Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by TeenTypist
Summary: Harry's fifth year. AU since June 21st. Harry befriends centaurs, discovers something about Phoenixes, and gets a bit of an attitude adjustment. Includes a trip to the Chamber of Secrets, St. Mungos, and a face-to-face confrontation with Voldemort. Ch 10
1. Letters

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER ONE: Letters**

Harry Potter was in his room finishing an essay on "Sleeping Drafts and Their Antidotes" for his potions class, when he heard a tapping at his window. He set down the eagle feather quill he had been writing with and went to open the window. Harry was not in the least surprised when two owls flew in. In fact, the snowy female owl belonged to him. He had never seen the other owl.

"Hello, Hedwig."

As he said this, the owl nipped his finger gently. To most people this would seem quite a bizarre scene: the desk was littered with ink bottles, parchment, and quills; atop his wardrobe stood Hedwig's empty cage; a trunk at the end of his bed revealed robes, cloaks, a cauldron, a broomstick, and a bag of strange coins; and the fifteen year old boy was petting an owl. Not to mention that both owls had envelopes tied to their legs and Hedwig had a package with hers. But Harry Potter wasn't most people. He wasn't average or in the least bit normal. Harry Potter was a wizard.

Harry would be starting his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1. Hogwarts felt more like home than Privet Drive ever felt. And that was where he was stuck for the next three weeks. The Dursleys were Harry's only living relatives. Harry spent his summer vacations with them. His parents had died when he was only a year old, but they hadn't just died, they'd been murdered. Harry never had friends until he went to Hogwarts. His extremely fat and mean cousin had prevented it. Harry loved Hogwarts, but his favorite part about being there was having his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger by his side. Now, Harry had a knack for attracting trouble, deadly trouble; but no matter what they always stuck by him through thick and thin.

The main person who wanted him dead was Lord Voldemort, the wizard who murderer is parents. Most wizards are terrified to even say his name. Voldemort had been the most powerful dark wizard anyone could remember. Voldemort was the reason Harry's parents were dead. The reason Harry had spent his first eleven years not knowing he was a wizard; not knowing that everyone in the wizarding world knew his name; not knowing how his parents died, he'd been led to believe they died in a car crash. The Dursleys had never told Harry he was a wizard, they were terrified of all magic and wanted to keep Harry from learning who he really was; a messenger from Hogwarts named Hagrid, had told him the truth on his eleventh birthday. The Dursleys had been the ones to lie and say they died in a car crash. They hadn't. Voldemort killed them. One of the Potters' friends had betrayed their whereabouts to Voldemort. Everyone thought it was Sirius Black; and that Sirius had killed a wizard named Peter Pettigrew. Peter betrayed Harry's parents, then, faked his death and framed Sirius for the whole thing. Sirius had been sent to Azkaban, the wizard jail guarded by the hideous Dementors, for life. He escaped in Harry's third year and had been on the run ever since. Sirius was Harry's godfather. But because of Peter, Harry was with the Dursleys instead of him.

Right now Voldemort was the farthest person from Harry's mind; it was a bright August 2. Harry rubbed Hedwig's head and untied the letter and the parcel on her leg before she went to drink in her cage. The letter was from Hermione, she had written:

_Harry, Sorry that it has been a while since I've written, but I'm visiting Bulgaria right now with my parents and this letter might be a few days late because I don't know how long it will take Hedwig to get to you. Bulgaria has such a fascinating magical history. I'll be back August 3. Happy Birthday! Have you heard from Sirius this summer? I thought about writing to him but I don't have an owl to send it and I wasn't sure what to say. I really hope you're done with you're homework. Here's my telephone number for when I get back home: (184) 249-9476. I was wondering if you and Ron want to meet me in Diagon Alley to buy our new school things. Would you mind writing to Ron and then calling me with the day?_

_As Always with Love,_

**_H_**_ermione** G**ranger_

Harry couldn't help laughing inside; Hermione had gone to visit Viktor Krum. Krum was an internationally famous Quidditch player for Bulgaria. Quidditch was a wizard sport played on broomsticks and in Harry's opinion it was the best sport in existence. Krum had come to Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year and he had fancied Hermione. He had even invited her to visit him in Bulgaria that summer. She had never mentioned her answer to Harry and Ron though. She had gone!

Harry was almost done with his homework, and he still had almost half his summer left. Hermione had top marks in their year and was always nagging Ron and him about studying. The letter wasn't really late; he had only turned fifteen on July 31, just three days ago.

He opened the package. "Wow!" It was a copy of the latest (June) issue of _Quidditch Today_ there was a note with it: _You now have a year's subscription to this magazine. _Harry placed the bag over on the nightstand where the card Ron had sent, as well as a few of fake wands that Ron's twin brothers had invented.

A nudge in the shoulder from the owl he didn't know interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and removed the envelope. There were two letters in it.

_Dear Harry,_

_Congratulations on winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year. Your father would have been proud of how you handled everything and what happened afterwards. I am proud of you and I know your father would have been, too. Ron, Hermione, and _you _are likely targets for the Death Eaters. They haven't announced their return yet but they _are_ gathering and regaining their old allies and numbers. Voldemort has already tried killing you more than once. Ron has plenty of reason to be a target for any Death Eater passing by. Hermione is a Muggle-born; they'll be after her._ _The three of you are already on bad terms with Death Eaters and their families. Being around you could be deadly this year! Stay alert and please be careful, Harry! I hope to see you soon._

_Professor Lupin_

Remus Lupin was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacherin Harry's third year. Lupin had been James Potter's best friend, apart from Sirius that is. When Voldemort came back, Sirius went to go stay with Lupin and keep out of sight of everyone who thought he was a murderer (which was just about everyone). He traveled in the form of a black dog. Sirius was an Animagus. He could change into an animal at will. His animal shape was a big black dog. Harry knew this letter would be from Sirius.

_Harry, I've been staying with Remus don't worry about me. We gathered a few of our old friends and they know the whole story about me, and about what happened to you at the Third Task. Just because the Minister of Magic isn't taking action it doesn't mean Dumbledore isn't. You are on the top of Voldemort's hit list and you know it! I may not be able to stay with you and take care of you as a godfather should, but at least I can help keep you safe. If I hear you've been roaming around the grounds at Hogwarts during the night I'll write to Dumbledore and keep you from going to Hogsmeadee. I know my responsibilities. Watch your back! Tell Ron and Hermione to be careful, too. I know the three of you can take care of yourselves but be careful, all of you! I'll send you any wizard news and I want you to tell me of anything strange. _

_Sirius _

Sirius and Lupin knew as well as anyone that Ron and Hermione and he could take care of themselves. And everyone always made it sound like he went looking for trouble. _I'm not that stupid_. _Why would I go looking for someone who wanted to kill me?_ _I don't go looking for trouble. I can take care of myself,_ he thought. He needed to write to Ron. He went back to his desk, took out some clean parchment and dipped his quill in ink. After some quick thought he wrote:

_Ron,_

_I just got letters from Sirius, Lupin, and Hermione. Lupin and Sirius are certain that you, Hermione, and me are likely to be attacked by the Death Eaters. Lupin and Sirius reckon we should lie low this year. Might not help since its not like we go looking for trouble, but all the same…Sirius already said if I end up in the Forbidden Forest again or anything like that he'll write to Dumbledore and keep me from visiting Hogsmeadee. Hermione wants to know when you're gonna go get your school things at Diagon Alley. We can all meet at the Leaky Cauldron. Write back soon, I'm supposed call Hermione with the day we'll be there._

_Harry _

Harry tied the letter to Hedwig's leg. "Will you take this to Ron for me?" Hedwig flew out the open window. Harry sat down once more to write to Sirius and Lupin.

_Sirius and Professor Lupin,_

_I promise I'll try to keep_ _out of trouble. I'm warning Hermione and Ron to do the same, but with me out of trouble I don't think anyone's likely to hurt them. Sirius, whatever you_ _do, don't be seen and get thrown back in Azkaban. I hope to see you both soon. Keep in touch._

_Harry_

Harry folded the letter and tied it to the owl's leg. "Take this to Remus Lupin." and with that the owl flew out the window. Harry lay down on his bed and started rereading _Flying with the Cannons_, a book about the Chuddley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team.

"Dinner!" Aunt Petunia screeched form downstairs. Harry looked at his clock. It was 6:30. Harry hadn't realized until then how long he'd been reading. It had been nearly two hours. Reluctantly he shut _Flying with the Cannons _and went downstairs where his aunt, uncle, and cousin were already eating their dinner: watermelon and fruit salad. Dudley was still on a strict diet.

"Petunia, did you call Mrs. Figg, yet? There is no way that boy is coming with us to visit my sister. After what happened last time..." Uncle Vernon's huge purple face was glaring as Harry entered and sat down.

"Yeah," said Harry "Well, she deserved it. I never want to see her again."

"No, Vernon. I haven't called yet," Aunt Petunia said. Everyone acted as if they hadn't heard Harry. They usually acted this way.

"Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked. He didn't want to stay at Mrs. Figgs' house. It smelled like cabbages and cats, and she made him look at pictures of her old cats. Nobody, Harry least of all, wanted him to visit Aunt Marge. He had to go get his new school things...He could put two and two and two together as well as anyone else. "London is on the way to Aunt Marge's house and if you drop me off there I know someone would take me the rest of the summer." It wasn't exactly true but he could stay at the Leaky Cauldron again. And it would that he would be around to buy his schoolbooks with Ron and Hermione.

"Are you sure, boy?" Uncle Vernon growled, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course, I mean, if I _don't_ meet my friend like I said I would, he might call my godfather and then they'd come looking for me." That had done it. Harry sat back to watch the reaction he knew would come: the paling of the purple face, the widening of the eyes… Harry had told the Dursleys that his godfather was a convicted murderer and powerful wizard who escaped from wizard prison; all of this was true but he hadn't gotten around to telling them Sirius was innocent. He doubted he would ever get around to mentioning that. Harry could tell this was a hard choice for Uncle Vernon. The Dursleys hated and feared anything to do with magic.

"Harry, go take the plates to the kitchen. Er, Dudley, just go," answered Uncle Vernon trying to buy himself some time.

As he and Dudley left for the kitchen, Harry heard his aunt and uncle discussing what to do. All three Dursley's were terrified of magic. His aunt and uncle had even tried to prevent him from going to Hogwarts when he was eleven. As Dudley and Harry re-entered the dining room Uncle Vernon cleared his throat.

"Where am I supposed to drop you off, boy?"

Harry told him the address. "When do we leave?"

"The day after tomorrow. Are we dropping you off at his house?"

"No, Uncle Vernon." Harry saw relief spread in his uncle's big purple face. They knew going to a wizard's house meant they would be meeting an adult wizard who was allowed to do magic and could very well turn them all into dung beetles. "Its an inn called the Leaky Cauldron."

"I've never heard of it," Uncle Vernon replied.

There was silence until a small, but stiff voice spoke quietly. "I have. The freaks go through the wall into a stupid street to buy all their nonsense. I went with Lily once, my parents forced me." Aunt Petunia admitted this with extreme difficulty. Lily Potter was Aunt Petunia's sister and Harry's mother. The last time Aunt Petunia had mentioned Lily was when Hagrid (a half giant who was the Hogwarts gamekeeper), came to tell Harry about Hogwarts. Usually Aunt Petunia pretended she had never had a sister—it made things easier for her.

Dudley found this whole conversation so interesting that he had stopped eating. Dudley was huge. You would think he had never done anything _except_ eat. Last year he went on a diet but it hadn't helped much though admittedly maybe a few pounds, certainly no more, were gone it didn't make the slightest difference in his appearance.

Uncle Vernon said, "I'll walk you to the door of this ruddy, stupid building, then we'll leave. We're going the day after tomorrow." The rest of the meal passed in silence.

Harry looked at his clock; it was 5 in the morning! What could have possibly woken him up? Hedwig was outside his window. Harry scrambled out of bed and opened the window. He whispered, "Thanks! I hadn't expected you back so soon. Just to let you know, tomorrow I'm going to the Leaky Cauldron. I'll be there the rest of the summer." And with a gentle nip on Harry's finger she flew out the window. Harry opened the letter. It was from Ron.

__

_Harry, _

_You know the three of us never get hurt. Nothing serious, anyway. Sirius and Lupin know that, too. Or they should know that How about August 7th we meet at the Leaky Cauldron? How's Hermione? I only heard from her once this summer. Are sure you'll be able to talk the Muggles into getting you to the Leaky Cauldron? Write me quick if they won't. I can probably get Bill or Charlie to blast your wall open and fly you to my house. _

_Ron_

After reading the letter from Ron, Harry put it away on top of his nightstand and lay back down for a few more hours of sleep.

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After breakfast everyone started packing. Harry started to pack, but then snuck downstairs to call Hermione. He dialed the number and a man answered the phone.

"Hello. Who is this?"

"Hello, Mr. Granger. I'm Harry. Can I please speak to Hermione?"

"Of course." A moment later Hermione was on the line.

"Hi, Harry."

"Hey, how was Bulgaria?"

"Great! It's actually a fascinating place and it has a fascinating magical history. Did you know that's where the wizard who came up with the Polyjuice Potion was from? My parents enjoyed it too but now they have jet lag. I was allowed to watch Viktor's Quidditch team practice; it was fun. The whole team was very polite."

"How long were you there?"

"Two weeks. Have you heard from Ron, yet?"

"Hedwig got back early this morning. I think I like telephones better."

"When are we meeting at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Well," answered Harry. "Ron will be there on the seventh, I'm going tomorrow and as far as I know I'll stay there until September 1. Then I'll have the Knight Bus pick me up and take me to the station."

"Why?"

"You've seen the Dursleys. If it were up to either them or me I'd stay at Hogwarts all summer. But Dumbledore says I have to go home, so I do. Besides, the Dursleys are going to visit Aunt Marge, she hates me, and we don't another accident. I told you about when I blew her up. Nobody wants a repeat."

"I guess you're right."

"I heard from Lupin and Sirius."

"Ooh, what did they say?"

"You, me, and Ron should lie low and stay out of trouble this year. We're likely targets for Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Sirius already said that if he hears I'm up to any mischief he'd write to Dumbledore and keep me from going to Hogsmeadee. I don't get in that much trouble do I?"

"Harry, I wouldn't be surprised if Sirius tells Dumbledore to put a spell on you that won't let you leave the grounds or maybe even the castle."

"Am I really that bad?"

"Yes! How many times have you nearly gotten killed?"

"Not too often, but I lost count."

"That's my point. Have the Death Eaters declared that they are back yet?" She sounded slightly worried.

"No, but they're possibly either waiting to get more allies or take revenge on Death Eaters who left."

"Or revenge on _you_. Harry, are you sure—"

"My aunt is coming and I'm not supposed to be on the phone. I've gotta go?"

"Call or write soon, Harry. Bye."

Harry hung up and raced back to his room. He went back to packing. He took down his chart counting down until September 1, and he put all his school things in his trunk. He also checked that the Invisibility Cloak he inherited from his father and the Marauder's Map Fred and George had given him were secure in his trunk. They were his biggest aides in rule breaking he owned. He secured his broom down near his broom polishing kit. He was soon ready to leave.


	2. Back at the Leaky Cauldron

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER TWO: **Back at the Leaky Cauldron

After a quick breakfast they were on the road by eight. Harry noticed his uncle was glad for the absence of Harry's owl. He didn't care why she was gone as long as she was nowhere near him.

"How do you know it'll come back?" asked Dudley. Harry knew Dudley was being spiteful, not concerned.

"_She_ is hunting."

"Well, er, how will it find you?"

"I told Hedwig where I'd be."

"Who's Hedwig?"

"My owl." No one ever listened to him. Dudley drank three sodas during the car ride. Harry sat imagining what he wouldn't give to be at Hogwarts watching the giant squid swim around the lake while he drank pumpkin juice, he wouldn't even mind being in class, just so long as he was away from the Dursleys. Suddenly the car stopped. They were on the right street. Uncle Vernon put Harry's trunk on a cart he had brought and the four of them walked down the road until Harry saw the Leaky Cauldron squashed between a bookshop and the record store. Aunt Petunia and Dudley had been planning to wait in the car while Uncle Vernon walked Harry in. But Dudley had to go to the bathroom. So in the end, three rather disgruntled looking Dursleys would be walking in with Harry.

"I don't see it," growled Uncle Vernon.

"It's invisible," said Harry.

Uncle Vernon clamped his hand over Harry's mouth as if afraid someone had heard. "Don't say that!" he whispered fiercely.

Harry led them through the doors.

Once inside, Harry told Dudley where the bathroom was then turned back to his aunt and uncle.

"Would either of you like anything to drink?"

"Most certainly not!" growled Uncle Vernon.

"Your loss," Harry replied as he turned around to go ask old Tom the toothless, old bartender for a soda. "Hi Tom. Can I have a—" but he was cut short.

"Surprise!" Ron and Hermione yelled. They had been at the counter waiting for him.

"Ron? Hermione? What are the two of you doing here? I thought we weren't meeting for another three days."

"We decided you couldn't spend the rest of the summer alone," answered Hermione.

"Yeah! We're staying here, too. On the seventh we'll all go back to my house," Ron said. "So what's with the Muggles? What are they doing here?"

Harry explained.

"Want something to drink, Harry?"

"Why not? Let's go see how the Dursleys are handling this." All three of them laughing went back to the Dursleys, who looked as though they were rooted to the spot by Devil's Snare and petrified by a basilisk.

"Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, I'm staying here for a few nights then I'm going back to Ron's house for the rest of the summer. You remember Ron, right? Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?" He smiled innocently. Harry loved watching the Dursleys squirm, and mentioning Ron—even though he was standing right there—had made them even more nervous.

"I'll take tea, but you must taste it in front of me to prove there's nothing funny about it," answered Aunt Petunia shortly. Harry went to get the tea and he could hear them talking still.

Hermione was making a polite attempt at conversation bringing up a few things of general world news.

"Since when do wizards care about any of that?" intoned Uncle Vernon as Harry came back.

"Oh, Uncle Vernon, Hermione is a Muggle-born witch like my mom." Harry took a sip of tea and passed it to his aunt. With all the other wizards and witches around there was no way Harry's aunt and uncle could get upset when he mentioned anything magical; it was an interesting change. Just then Dudley came out.

"Want any thing to drink Dudley?" as Ron asked this, he put on the wicked grin Fred and George –-his seventeen year old twin brothers— usually wore.

Uncle Vernon recognized the smirk and, looking terrified, said, "We have to leave. _Now_!" before Dudley could get a single word out. Aunt Petunia gave back the tea and all three Dursleys scuttled out there rather quickly. Uncle Vernon threw one quick look over his shoulder with panic written on his face.

"I'm glad he remembers me!" said Ron

By now they were both howling with laughter. It took five minutes for them to calm down enough to explain to Hermione what was so funny. The summer before, Ron's family had taken Hermione and Harry to the Quidditch World Cup Match. When Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron came to pick Harry up they blasted open the living room wall, then Fred "accidentally" dropped some Ton-Tongue-Toffees he and George invented. Dudley ate one and his tongue was for feet long before Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon let Ron's dad shrink it. Hermione was at the Weasleys' house when they got there but she had come in the room after.

After the story was over and they were all done laughing again it was Harry's turn to ask the questions; after he got something to drink, he wouldn't drink the tea because tealeaves seemed to predict his death all too often and he didn't feel like even knowing there were leaves there. "Ron how did you know I would be here?"

"Hermione told me."

"How? You don't have a phone and she doesn't have an owl."

"It was Hedwig."

"Hermione, what does Hedwig have to do with anything? She went flying outside after I got Ron's letter. I figured she deserved a break after going to Bulgaria then coming all the way back home and then to Ron's."

"Who did you write to in Bulgaria?" inquired Ron.

"The girl sitting next to you, Ron."

"Why was Hermione in Bulgaria?" Then the recognition showed on Ron's face. "Hermione was visiting Krum."

Harry noticed Hermione's face was going as red as Ron's hair so he hastily changed the subject. "Why did Hedwig fly to you?"

"I'm not sure. Yesterday, after I talked to you I saw Hedwig. I called her down, and gave her a snack and drink while I wrote a letter to Ron. Then she took the letter for me."

"Why didn't you tell me you were in Bulgaria, Hermione?" asked Ron. Ron sounded slightly hurt but it was hard for Harry to tell whether or not he was joking.

An awkward silence was starting. "Er, Ron, Hermione why don't we see about some rooms?"

"We already did. Ron's in three, I'm in four, and you have got five. But you should put go put your trunk in your room. Hedwig is waiting."

"I'll help you, Harry."

Together Harry and Ron carried Harry's trunk up the wooden staircase to room five. As soon as Harry and Ron had set down the trunk they sat on the end of Harry's bed and Hedwig fluttered to Harry's knee.

"Are you done with all your homework yet, Harry?"

"Nope, I've still got to do our History of Magic paper."

"I still have Snape's essay."

"Ouch. We'll do them tomorrow."

"Don't tell Hermione or she'll scold us for not having been done a week ago. Let's go ask if she wants to come walk around Diagon Alley with us."

"Sure." Harry put down Hedwig and followed Ron down the stairs. Harry, Ron and Hermione went to the back yard behind the Leaky Cauldron. It was nothing but a dingy alley with a trashcan and a few weeds. But as Hermione tapped the right brick with her wand, a hole opened in the wall and they entered Diagon Alley. It closed directly behind them. Their first stop was Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry grinned when he saw that they hadn't made a broomstick that could out fly his _Firebolt_ yet. Sirius bought it for him in his third year; the Whomping Willow had smashed Harry's _Nimbus 2000_. While they were in Quality Quidditch Supplies they saw Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. They were two of the boys Harry and Ron shared their dormitory with. Dean told them, "Neville is here too but if you see him, watch what you say. Trevor is sick and he's real worried."

"How awful! What happened?" Hermione asked. Neville Longbottom was the other boy that shared the Harry and Ron's dormitory. He was more forgetful than anyone else Harry knew and was extremely tearful. He was also quite accident-prone. He had been given Trevor the toad by his Great-Uncle Algie when he was accepted to Hogwarts. Trevor meant a lot to him.

"I think the poor thing drank a messed up potion. I've have to go now, bye," answered Seamus.

"See you!" called Dean Thomas.

"That reminds me. I've got to go to the _Magical Menagerie_, come on," Hermione said.

"Why? Isn't your cat okay?"

"Ron, you know his name is Crookshanks, and yes he's all right. But I need an owl; I've got some birthday money to buy it with. I can't just hope Hedwig shows up whenever I need to send a letter. You have Pigwidgeon and Harry has Hedwig, I have Crookshanks but a cat doesn't deliver mail. At school I can use the school owls but not over the summer," Hermione told Ron and Harry in an irritated tone.

"Why don't you pick out your owl tonight and we can pick it up when we get our school stuff."

"No, I'll pick my owl out today, but I'll pick him or her up tomorrow. Maybe the day after, but I won't wait until the day we get our school stuff, we'll all be really busy." So they both followed her to the Magical Menagerie. Hermione picked out a screech owl, which—after much debate—she named Merlin Janus

They spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the shops. Eventually they got hungry, and went back to the Leaky Cauldron. The food was good and they were up talking late into the night.

"I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be."

"They don't seem to last very long, do they?" Ron replied.

"Nobody even last a whole year. Quirrell was killed—"

"Lockhart lost his memory—"

"Lupin resigned when everyone found out he was a werewolf—"

"And Moody was replaced by someone trying to kill me," Harry finished.

"The three of us really shouldn't have to take that class, we've had plenty of practice. I bet the three of us would be perfect to teach it."

"You're probably right, Ron, but we should be going to bed now. Its late," Hermione finished in a yawn.


	3. Visitors

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER THREE:** Visitors

When Harry got up and went downstairs for breakfast he found Ron and Hermione already waiting for him.

"Oy, sleepy-head!" Ron called as Harry came down the stairs.

Harry came to join them, "What are we doing today?"

"I don't know," Ron answered. "I suggest we start with breakfast." So they did.

"We've still got the rest of the day left. What should we do?"

"I want to check out the Muggle part of London. The only part of London I've been is here and Diagon Alley. The rest of it we just drove through on our way to Kings Cross," said Ron.

"Okay."

"As long as we're back before dark," warned Hermione. "We've never really been through London. Actually, I have but I don't come into London that often. We should probably be in Muggle clothes. I've got some and Harry's got some, I think."

"Yeah, I do. Come on, Ron. I've got some, but I'm warning you they used to be Dudley's. They're about three sizes too big." They all went upstairs. Hermione went to her room to change and Harry got Ron and himself some of Dudley's old clothes and they changed, leaving the wizard robes on Harry's bed. They all went downstairs and out the front door.

They went to the record shop next door and the books store. They passed sweet shops, clothing stores, and all sorts of places. They even went to a movie. Ron still found "Muggle money" totally weird. He could understand the value of a bronze Knut, or a silver Sickle, or a gold Galleon; but he didn't see any point in money that was paper.

When it was starting to get a little dark Hermione treated them both to ice cream. They sat outside eating and talking about what a great day it had been when someone suddenly came up to them. Two someones. They were a blonde girl about their own age, and a woman who looked like she was probably the girl's mother.

The woman said, "I would like to speak with you; Harry, Ron, Hermione. Albus Dumbledore sent me. You're Muggle clothes aren't fooling me. If you will be so kind as to escort my daughter and me to the Leaky Cauldron we can speak further."

"Er—" said Harry. There hadn't been anything else to do so Harry, Ron and Hermione led the strangers into the Leaky Cauldron. The woman then took the lead and led them all to a large table out of the way in the back.

When they all sat down Hermione started to speak. "I'm not trying to be rude but it would help if you answer a few questions." As she looked at Ron and Harry, they nodded. "Will you please tell us your names?"

"Certainly. I am Jennifer Delano and this is my daughter Renata Delano."

Harry picked up with the next question, "How do you know who we are?"

"Well, Harry, Albus Dumbledore told me. Although I dare say your scar would tell me anyway. The description for you was: black hair, green eyes, glasses, rather skinny, and your famous scar. Besides, you look so much like James it wouldn't have been hard to guess who you were."

"How do you know about Ron and Hermione?"

She peered closely at Harry. "You do have Lily's eyes, though. I miss her so much. I was told Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger would most likely accompany you. Ron was described as tall, with red hair, and freckles. Hermione was described to be extremely bright and with bushy brown hair. You all fit the descriptions extremely well. Anything else?" She smiled disarmingly.

"You seem to have known my mom and dad."

"I went to Hogwarts with them, your mom and I were best friends."

"If you went to Hogwarts, the you've been to Diagon Alley which means you've been to the Leaky Cauldron. Explain, to me why you couldn't see it," challenged Hermione.

"Why didn't you Apperate or travel by Floo Powder?" added Ron.

"Because I'm only fifteen, I _can't_ Apperate. I'm too young for a license," Renata told them.

"We didn't use Floo Powder because I figured that it would be a good idea to let Renata learn her way around at least part of England. I haven't been here for a long time; I was trying to refresh my memory. And I _could _see the Leaky Cauldron; I needed help remembering where it was. Besides I still need to talk to the three of you somewhere more private, Renata is getting a room, now."

At that moment Renata came back to the table; she must have gone after telling them she couldn't Apperate but Ron and Harry hadn't noticed until she came back. She began talking to her mother. "We've got room 6 and if we need it its available the rest of the summer and at Christmas and Easter, too."

"Thank you, but tell Tom that we won't need a room over the holidays. We'll be fine after September first. When you come back we'll be talking in our room." She stood up and waved Ron, Harry, and Hermione up the stairs as Renata went off to talk to old Tom again.

Walking up the stairs Harry wondered whether all this might not be some trap set for him. These two were strangers; he couldn't trust them. Why was he following them? Why were Ron and Hermione still following him? Before he could answer his own questions they were at the door of room 6. Jennifer Delano took out her wand. Harry reached in his pocket for his wand. It seemed Harry and Ron panicked at the exact same time. Both had left their wands in the pocket of their robes on top of Harry's bed when they changed out of the robes that morning. When she saw their faces Hermione took out her wand, smiled, and put it back in her pocket.

Jennifer moved her arm and muttered something as she led them in. Then she pulled five chairs out of the air. Then they all sat down. Renata came running in and took the empty seat, it was between her mother and Hermione. "Hey, did I miss anything?"

"No, I was just about to explain everything to these three. You should listen, too." She turned to everyone. "I told the three of you my name but not who I am or why I'm here. I'll try to be brief but this involves a little of my history for you to understand. I was a student at Hogwarts when Harry's parents were there but I did not live in England before attending Hogwarts. I moved there when I was eleven from California. Eventually I met Renata's father. We got married. When Renata was barely under a year old her father died. I went back to California and taught at The Angels Magical Academy of California and they let me keep Renata with me. It helped that I had my friends from England. Lily helped the most. When Lily and James were gone so soon afterwards Renata was all I had left and I clung to her, desperately. I was quite depressed.

"Anyway, the important thing is at the end of last year I got a letter from Dumbledore telling me about the Tri-Wizard Tournament and what happened to Harry at the end of it and about Voldemort. I wasn't sure what to think. I thought it just couldn't possibly be true. Just a week later I received another letter. It was from my old friends: Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. They needed my help. They told me the whole story about the Potters' deaths and about Peter Pettigrew. I wasn't sure what to think until the next letter I got from Dumbledore confirmed it. More letters continued to come from the three of them despite the fact that I hadn't responded yet. The three of them really care about the three of you! Sirius won't forgive himself if anything happens to any of you. Remus is positive that no amount of spells will keep you safe. And Dumbledore must know something the rest of us don't! He seems to think that something awful will happen if Voldemort gets Harry, and that Voldemort will use the two of you to get to him!"

By now Jennifer Delano was red and a bit out of breath. After a moment and a few deep breaths, she looked up and spoke again. "This conversation is not to be repeated. When we came in I put a privacy spell on the room when so no one will overhear us. Harry, do you know why Voldemort wanted to kill you? Or why he wants to kill you now?"

"Well, I don't know why he wanted to kill me in the first place. But I'm guessing he wants to kill me now because I broke his power and kept taking away his chances for the power back, until last year. I'm guessing that whatever the original reason was is still standing because he's tried to kill me three times since then. He probably thinks I'm irritating. I think Dumbledore knows why he wanted to kill me in the first place. When I regained consciousness after Voldemort and Professor Quirrell tried to kill me in my first year, Dumbledore was in the hospital room with me. I asked why Voldemort wanted to kill me and he said 'I'd know when I was older.' But he's got to know, he was the one who told my parents to hide. Not many people know that my parents knew Voldemort was after them. Dumbledore has to know."

"It sounds as if Harry's right," Renata sighed.

"I think Harry knows Dumbledore better than anyone else in this room knows him."

"Unfortunately it appears that Renata and Hermione are both right." Jennifer shook her head as she said this.

"Yeah, and Dumbledore is so crazy we'd never be able to guess what he's thinking," put in Ron.

"He always knows what's happening. He's probably supposed to have us expelled loads of times. The only rule book Dumbledore follows is his own and even then I think he makes exceptions." Harry told them.

"That's what I was afraid of. I don't think we learned much of anything but it's getting late and you haven't had dinner yet. We can go eat now and discuss tomorrow's schedule. Then I'll let you be for the night," as Jennifer said this they followed her down stairs. They went to the out-of-the-way table they had sat at earlier. The bartender Tom came to take their orders immediately. They all had some polite conversation. It wasn't long before Tom came back with their food. As soon as he was gone again the real discussion began.

"Tomorrow Remus Lupin and Sirius Black are coming. So are your brothers, sister and parents, Ron. Unfortunately, Dumbledore is unavailable. I believe he is trying to once more to talk some sense into the Minister of Magic. The stupid fool won't listen when we tell him that Voldemort has returned. I hope Dumbledore can talk some sense into him. Can any of you think of anyone else who should come to tomorrow's discussion?" asked Jennifer.

Harry spoke, "I may regret this tomorrow but what about Snape? Or the other teachers?"

"I think _Professor_ Snape is doing some work for us now and the teachers are already doing their part," Jennifer told them.

"What about our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Now more than ever he is important," Hermione said.

"I'm surprised that three of us even have to take that class anymore. We're probably more qualified than whoever the new professor is. Especially if he turns out to be another one like Lockhart," said Ron

"_She_ won't be," said Renata.

"And how do you know that?" challenged Ron.

"Because _I_ am the new professor," Jennifer informed them. "Now you are all—"

"I just thought of someone else who needs to be here tomorrow," Harry said. "The Diggorys. They lost Cedric to Voldemort. They know Voldemort is back and they'll want to stop him."

"Good idea. I shall inform them as soon as I return to my room. Now as I was saying you are all free until six o' clock. That's when we'll meet back here for dinner. At seven thirty the Weasleys should arrive. Around the same time Sirius and Remus should arrive. If I can manage it, so will the Diggorys. After the discussion Remus and Sirius will leave and if I'm not mistaken so will the Diggorys. The Weasleys will spend the night and the next morning as you had all planned you can pick up your new school things for this year. Then Harry and Hermione will spend the rest of the summer with the Weasleys.

"When you go back to school on September 1 the four of you will go to Dumbledore's office. Harry knows where it is. This year's password is 'chocolate frog.' Don't forget."

"I don't see why this year we're getting the heads up on everything, but every other year we stumbled upon everything by accident and after that we were just really good at picking up clues. No one told us anything even when we asked," Harry said.

"_You_ never mentioned anything to the _teachers_." Professor Delano reminded them.

Ron exclaimed, "Do you know how many rules we've broken? How many times we should have been expelled? No one would have believed us anyway."

"This time you have to come tell one of us. We're all on the same side, yes, even Snape. But not all of the students are, nor are their parents. Harry saw some of them last year when the Death Eaters answered Voldemort's call." With that the Delanos went back upstairs.

"I think," Ron, whispered, "we need our own meeting tomorrow. Nine in the morning, my room?" The others nodded and they all went upstairs. As Harry took off his glasses, put on his pajamas, and got into bed, he thought of all that he had heard that night. He wasn't very far when he drifted off to sleep.


	4. Meetings

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER FOUR: Meetings**

Harry woke up and it was already 9:15! He had overslept. Harry hurriedly got dressed and went to Ron's room. "Sorry, I'm late. I just—"

"Ssh!" Ron waved his hand to get Harry to come sit down. He whispered, "Hermione is making sure their gone."

"Who's gone?"

"Delano and her daughter."

"I don't get it. What does it matter if they're here?"

"Just be quiet and wait!" hissed Ron. About five minutes later Hermione walked in and plopped down on Ron's bed.

"They're gone and I think we've got plenty of time," she told them.

"Sorry, but why does it matter whether or not the Delanos are gone? They sounded like they were telling the truth last night."

"Oh please!" Ron said. "Last night was just an act."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry. "Professor Delano may have had the facts but she could have gotten them from other places. Pettigrew could have given her the story about Sirius. Lupin was the only Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who _hasn't_ tried to kill you. We're not risking it this time. Harry, go get your Sneakoscope out of your trunk and put it in the Delanos' room."

"What if she put spells on the room before she left?"

"That's a risk we have to take. We're not supposed to use magic so your Sneakoscope is the best we can do. At least we'll be able to find out if she's trustworthy. We can put it in her room now and if when they go back tonight we hear it making noise we'll know we can trust them."

"Wait—what are we basing this on?" asked Harry.

"I'll do it myself!" snapped Ron. Ron marched out of the room. He came back looking angry. "There are spells on the door and I couldn't get in their room. Now what do we do?"

"I guess trusting them is out of the question?"

"Harry, Ron and I have learned caution just from being around you. After all you been through why haven't you learned it?"

"I have. But I thought—"

"Harry! You're not thinking. I do have an idea. Ron, get me some parchment and a quill. Harry, go get Hedwig. I'll open Pigwideon's cage." As soon as she had parchment and a quill with an inkbottle, Hermione began to write the letter.

_Dear Professor Dumbledore,_

_We met two people yesterday who claim to be former students of yours and say you sent them. They claim to be Jennifer Delano and her daughter is named Renata. She says she knows you. She also says that you sent her. We decided it was safest to ask you. Is she really the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? Thank you for your time, Professor._

_Hermione Granger,_

_Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley_

She tied the letter to Hedwig's leg. "Please take this letter to Professor Dumbledore." She walked Hedwig to the window and Hedwig flew out of it. Then, Hermione sat down to write the second letter.

_Dear Sirius and Prof. Lupin,_

_ Someone here is saying she knows you. She claims to be Jennifer Delano. She says the two of are visiting tonight at the Leaky Cauldron. We're writing because we want to know if we can trust her. Please reply immediately._**__**

_Hermione Granger, Harry, Potter and Ron Weasley_

Hermione tied the letter to Pigwideon's leg and took him to the window. "Pig, see if you can find Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." Hermione thrust him out the window and the little owl took off. "We've sent the letters, what else can we do? Following them is too suspicious."

"I know you guys are just being cautious but we don't really have any reason to suspect them."

"Using a spell to keep people out of your room isn't suspicious? Even if there is supposed to be a Jennifer Delano here what if this lady isn't her. It could be Polyjuice Potion we _know _how well that works."

"Ron," said Harry. "We talked to her for over two hours last night. The Polyjuice Potion wears off after exactly one hour and we didn't see her slip anything into her drink. Think again. She might have other reasons for locking the door maybe she thinks Death Eaters are after her."

"Harry this is not a joke! What else can we do to figure out if there is anything suspicious about the two of them?"

"Let's just send Hedwig after her," Harry suggested sarcastically.

"Too suspicious, besides she's delivering a letter. But…but…we could send Crookshanks."

Hermione ran off. She came back carrying a ginger cat with a squashed looking face in her arms. "Why are you two just standing there? Get your wands, we're going to Diagon Alley. Just because we're not supposed to do magic doesn't mean we should be unarmed." Harry went to his room to get his wand and he began thinking. _Was he being stupid, refusing to believe that the woman and her daughter who were staying in the room next his posed no threat? Were Ron and Hermione being cautious or scared? He couldn't deny that there were quite a few times when he had almost been killed. All right there were more than a few. Most of those times, because they were with him, Ron and Hermione had been in real danger. Okay, so their caution was justified. Hadn't Cedric Diggory died last year because he was with Harry when Voldemort found him? Lupin was right; being with Harry could be deadly._ Harry found his wand and went back to Ron and Hermione.

"Let's go to Diagon Alley, Harry, come on."

"What about breakfast? Its already ten."

"You can have two breakfasts tomorrow." Ron shoved him from behind. The three of them went down to the back alley and when Hermione tapped the right brick with her wand and the wall opened to admit the three of them into Diagon Alley. Hermione moved to the side and opened Crookshanks' basket. He climbed out and sat down in front of her.

"Are you ready to listen? Okay I want you to look around Diagon Alley and see if you can find two people. Jennifer Delano and Renata Delano. Jennifer has shoulder length blonde hair, hazel eyes, and she's about five and a half feet tall. Renata has blonde hair almost to her waist, blue eyes, light complexion with a little bit of tan, and she's about the same height as her mum. When you find them follow them, if they are still not back here by about five o' clock I want you to come back anyway. We'll be here then. When we see you, could you let me know if Jennifer and Renata ever left Diagon Alley, okay? Bye Crookshanks." As soon as Hermione had finished talking Crookshanks moved off down the street, twitching his tail. "We've done everything we can think of as a precaution. So what do we do now?"

"Let's go pick-up your owl." Since there was nothing else to do the three of them walked to the _Magical Menagerie _to go get Hermione's owl. She had paid for Merlin and his cage when she picked him out all she had to do now was pick him up. Merlin was quite handsome. Hermione thanked the woman at the register and walked out clutching Merlin's cage in one arm and Crookshanks empty basket in the other hand.

They had the whole rest of the day left and nothing to do. For a while they just walked around each leading in turn. Finally Ron said, "This is pointless. What should we do?"

"We might as well go back and do our homework, I guess."

"You two aren't done with it yet?" asked Hermione with disapproval.

"No, we're not, let's go." They went back to the Leaky Cauldron and up to their rooms. Ron went to finish his essay for Professor. Snape. It was that one about sleeping drafts and their antidotes Hermione was checking over her homework for the fourth time. Harry meanwhile was writing his history of magic essay, "Discuss the Wizards' Council's First Three Attempts to Issue a Classifying of Beasts and Beings." Harry wrote aimlessly about Burdock Muldoon (an early Chief of the Wizards' Council) who first tried to classify the "Beasts" and "Beings"; and then he went on to write about Madame Elfrida Clagg, from there it was on to discussing Grogan Stump. Just after Harry was finished he saw something fuzzy and about the size of a tennis ball come whirling in the window. Pig had come back. He was sitting on Harry's bed. Harry picked him up and when to Ron's room and then Hermione's. "I've got the letter. Let's go open it." Harry led them back to his room he untied the letter from Pig's leg and opened it. Pig began flying around Ron's head hooting very noisily until Ron caught him and put him in Hedwig's empty cage. Harry began reading the letter out loud.

_Dear Harry, Ron, and Hermione,_

_We're glad to know that you're_ _cautious but we are meeting you and the Delanos at the Leaky Cauldron tonight. You can trust them. Everything they said is true. Jenny's our friend. If you have time before the two of us get to the Leaky Cauldron could you stop by Ollivanders? Ask for "My friend's wand." He'll know it's for Sirius. Its all ready paid for. When Sirius was taken away ministry officials broke his wand. If you can get it great if not, we'll pick it up another time._

_Remus Lupin and Sirius Black_

"I knew we could trust them."

"You did not. You were only hoping that we could trust them. Lupin and Sirius even said that it was good that we were cautious."

"Why are we arguing? We need to go get the wand for Sirius and its not too long until we need to meet with Crookshanks."

"Right," replied the other two. Hermione got Crookshanks's basket together and they all went downstairs and out the back way to Diagon Ally. They walked down the street until they came to _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC._ They went inside. There was a spindly-legged chair on one wall and everywhere else was lined with long narrow boxes containing wands. Mr. Ollivander was they only person in the shop when Ron, Hermione, and Harry entered. Mr. Ollivander looked at them with his creepy gray eyes that never seemed to blink. "I hadn't expected the three of you to come back so soon," he told them in his soft voice. "Did one you need a new wand?"

"No, Mr. Ollivander." Harry told him. "We're here to pick up _My Friend's wand_. He is visiting soon and he wanted me to bring it."

"Of course I shall go retrieve it at once."

He went to a room in the back and came out a few minutes later carrying a wand box. "May it be well used." He nodded and they all left. Only Harry saw the red and gold bird sitting on the rooftop across, but he didn't mention it because it was gone as soon as he saw it; he didn't see the figure the bird flew to, standing in the shadows.

They went to the wall that led them into the Leaky Cauldron to see if Crookshanks had returned yet and sure enough, he had. Hermione put him in his basket and they all went up to Hermione's room. "Crookshanks, I'm going to ask you a few questions. When the answer is yes put your left paw up when the answer is no put your right paw up." Crookshanks sat back on his haunches. "Did you find the Delanos?" His left paw went up. "Did they leave Diagon Ally?" The cat's right paw went up. "Did they say see you?" The cat's right paw went up again. "Thank you." She stroked him and rubbed his chin. Crookshanks purred appreciatively until Hermione stopped and turned to Ron and Harry. "I think this, along with the wand Mr. Ollivander gave us, and the letter confirm that we can trust the Delanos."

"Okay but what do we do now? We still have ten minutes before we're supposed to meet the Delanos for dinner."

"Let's go give the wand to Professor Delano for safekeeping, since our discussion will be in her room." The three of them went to room 6 and knocked on the door.

Renata answered, "Who is it?"

"Us," called Ron.

"Oh, come in."

"We picked up something today that one of tonight's visitors wants. Since the meeting will be here can we leave it here?"

"Sure. My mom will be up in a minute then we can all go downstairs."

Hermione stepped forward holding the wand box. "Where can I put this?"

"Oh, just anywhere. On top of the wardrobe will be fine." Hermione put the box down and no one knew what to say.

Renata looked hesitant a moment before speaking again. "I'm a little nervous about all the people we'll meet tonight. Do any of you know them? I know one but—"

"Yes!" They all answered at once. Ron said, "My parents, brothers and sister are coming."

"Bill and Charlie, too?" asked Harry.

"Probably. Bill _was_ there when you woke up in the hospital wing."

"Even though most people think Sirius Black is a crazy, double-crossing murderer, he's not. He's my godfather. I would definitely rather be with him in the summer and not my aunt's house."

"Lupin is really good, too. He was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we ever had."

"Its good to know. I was a little nervous about meeting everybody tonight." Just after Renata made the comment her mother came up.

"Come down to eat, everyone." They all followed Jennifer downstairs. The five of them sat down and after their order was taken they had some small talk. When they're food was before them and they knew that they were less likely to be interrupted they began to discuss more openly. "What have you three been up to today?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked at each other thinking _should we say that we spent most of the day trying to figure out if they were working for the Dark Side?_ Harry nodded and so did Hermione. After a second or two Ron shrugged and nodded. "We spent a good part of the day trying to figure out whether or not the two of you were in league with You-Know-Who."

"I wouldn't have expected anything less considering the reputation the three of you have at school."

"Harry was the only one not suspicious of you."

Jennifer smiled, "So what was your conclusion and how did you reach it?"

"Last night when you left the table we decided that we needed our own meeting this morning. We started it by having Hermione make sure you were gone this morning before we did or discussed anything. When we knew you were gone we got Harry's Sneakoscope and we meant to put it in your room but you put some spell on it so we couldn't get in."

Hermione took it from there. "Then we sent owls to Sirius and Dumbledore asking if they knew you. We got a letter from Sirius back this afternoon. After we sent the letter we briefly thought that you had used Polyjuice Potion. Then Harry reminded us that we knew it wears off after exactly one hour—"

"Unless you mix animal hair with it," muttered Ron.

Hermione ignored him, "—and we had been with you longer than that last night. And again it was Harry who had the next idea. Sirius told us in our third year that my cat, Crookshanks, was extremely smart. We brought Crookshanks to Diagon Alley, described what you and Renata look like, and we told him to follow you and when to meet us back at the entrance to Diagon Alley. We went to pick up my owl and then after that we walked around the rest of Diagon Alley for a while we decided to go finish our summer homework. I was already done so I was just rechecking mine."

"For the 20th time," muttered Ron.

"Fourth time. But before our homework I questioned Crookshanks. If the answer was yes he held up his left paw and if it was no he held up the right one. From the answers we got to our questions we discovered that you hadn't left Diagon Alley."

"I was finishing my history of magic essay when Ron's owl came in with Sirius and Lupin's reply. When we all read it we decided it was time to decide whether or not to trust you. We were a little suspicious that you had sealed your room with a spell. But we knew you hadn't used Polyjuice; and we knew you hadn't left Diagon Alley. And since the letter we got back claimed you to be a friend not a foe. So we trust you. The letter asked us to take care of a favor too, which we did."

"Mr. Ollivander did say you stopped by. I presume that was the favor?"

In a lowered tone Ron said, "Yes, Sirius will be needing a wand. We've seen for ourselves that he can still use magic; he was fortunate not to lose his mind or powers after being in Azkaban all those years." Bringing his voice back to normal he asked, "and what were you doing there?"

"It's none of your business but for your information I wanted to have my wand checked to make sure it was alright and to get Renata a new one. Olivander's are better quality than the wands in the U.S. The Garamonds make excellent wands but no one can beat the wands made by the Ollivanders. Mr. Ollivander asked if I had met any of my future students and when I mentioned the three of you he told me that you had been in just a short while before."

"Did you ever found out whether or not the Diggorys are coming?"

"Yes, Harry was quite right about them wanting to take revenge on Voldemort, but they have promised not do anything rash. Actually we should go upstairs. Everyone should begin arriving soon. Go upstairs, I must talk with the bartender." The four of them went upstairs while Jennifer went to talk to Tom.

The four students were in Hermione's room when Jennifer came back. "I've taken the liberty of informing Tom where to send everyone when they arrive," Jennifer told them. "The Weasleys will be sent to Ron's room and a note there will direct them to the room Renata and I share since the meeting will be there. Remus will be directed to our meeting room and Sirius will be with him in his dog form. I told Tom that Remus was going to come give me some advice about teaching at Hogwarts, but didn't inform him that Remus would have a dog with him. I also mentioned that the Diggorys might stop by and if they did that I would like them to come up and say hello."

"Good plan. I'll write the note if you'd like."

"Thank you, Hermione." Jennifer left the room. Hermione got out a quill and some parchment. Hermione went to go put the note on Ron's bed where the Weasleys were sure to see it. When she went back to her room Ron and Harry told her it was time to go to Professor Delano's room. They all went and sat on the chairs. It was not long before Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny entered the room. Mrs. Weasley came right over to give Ron, Harry and Hermione each a big hug. The Delanos' room now contained 17 chairs that somehow all fit without seeming squashed.

When Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George came over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Ron grinned. "Harry's aunt and uncle seemed to remember me be. Your toffee last year made a quite lasting impression." They all broke into a roaring laugh. Renata saw them and came over to find out what was so funny.

When Hermione saw her she took a few breaths and was able to stop laughing. "This is Renata Delano. Her mom is this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. These are Ron's brothers Charlie, Bill, Fred and George. Percy is over there and so is Ron's sister Ginny." Hermione then went on to explain about the hole blasted in the living room wall and how the toffees were "accidentally" dropped.

Renata beamed. "Nice to meet you all." Still grinning Renata shook her head at Fred and George, who were wearing their customary mischievous grins. "From what my mom has said I thought these three," she jerked her head at Harry, Ron and Hermione, "were troublemakers but the two of you are absolutely wicked!"

"Thank you that is the best compliment we've received in weeks."

"Besides, Ron learned from the best."

Renata commented, "It sounds like Hermione and Harry cause more than their share. I suppose they learned from you as well?"

"No they're just naturally troublesome."

Ginny came over. She blushed a little when she saw Harry. "But a lot of what they did was helpful. They saved my life once." She blushed harder; she usually did when she was around Harry.

"What's Hogwarts like? We're going in less than a month and I've never even seen it."

"Its a little confusing at first. But it's pretty standard. The portraits talk and go visit each other..."

"This one portrait, Sir Cadogan is pretty crazy. We've also got one hundred forty-two staircases. Some have trick a step in the middle or they lead somewhere different depending on the day of the week."

"It took Harry and I our whole first week to be able to make it down to breakfast without getting lost on at least once on the way. The doors don't always like to open just by force," Ron said.

"Some doors only open if you tickle them in the right place or need passwords. Others are only walls pretending. Some only open if you ask politely."

"Don't worry you'll get the hang of it."

"It sounds pretty standard with the stuff we had at The Angels Academy back home.

They had all been discussing things while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were off in the corner having a discussion with Professor Delano. Percy looked as though he wished to join them but they appeared to be excluding anyone else so he just stood in the middle of the room. Harry saw him and got up. "Hi Percy."

"Hello, Harry. Nice to see you again." He shook Harry's hand as if he had never met him before. Harry tried not to laugh.

"This will be Renata's first year at Hogwarts. Do you want to go give her any advice? Otherwise I'm sure the only thing she'll hear is your brothers telling her the best way to cause trouble."

"Of course, but I should like a word with you first."

"Okay."

"So You-Know-Who has really come back? And the Minister of Magic refuses to take notice?"

"Yes, I've seen him myself. Fudge won't listen to Dumbledore. He refuses to believe that everyone's in danger."

Percy got a worried look on his face.

Harry walked back over to where the group was talking and after a minute in which Percy regained composure he followed. They all kept the chatter up until ten minutes later Remus Lupin walked in with a big black dog. Remus said, "Nobody scream." Then before their very eyes the dog changed into Sirius Black. He ran to Harry and greeted him.

"Hi, Sirius."

"Hello, Harry. Hi Ron, Hermione." Turing the other way, he said, "Hello Jenny, Molly, Arthur."

All the people he had just greeted replied, "Hello, Sirius."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny all said, "Hello Professor Lupin," and the three adults in the corner all added, "Good evening Remus."

"Sirius," Harry smiled. "We picked something up for you."

Ron took the wand box off the wardrobe and handed it to Sirius. "You got it! Thank you!" He had a wand of his own again.

Percy pulled Harry aside, "Who is the woman my parents were talking to? I know her name is Delano but I don't know anything else."

"Professor Delano is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The girl who is here, Renata, she's Delano's daughter. Delano went to Hogwarts with Lupin, Sirius, my dad, and Pettigrew. She's spent most of the time since then teaching in America at the Angels Magical Academy of California."

"Why is it that I never know anything?" Percy was almost beside him self.

Charlie came over. "Because you are too stiff, Perce. You've got to learn to relax. There is nothing wrong with breaking a few rules now and then. Or, in Harry's case lots of rules."

"Sometimes it helps, Percy. No one listens to you without proof and if you need to bend rules a little to get that proof then you actually did a good thing." Harry told them. He thought he heard Percy mutter something "about going too far" and "crossing to many lines." He headed over to where Sirius and Professor Lupin were talking to Professor Delano and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley; they were all huddled in a corner. Harry caught a few words of what was being said.

"Are you sure the children are up to it?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"The three who have been here seem perfectly able. They didn't trust me, but they didn't tell me they that. They took proper precaution. The morning after I met them they took no action until they knew I was gone. Then they tried putting a Sneakoscope in my room, but I had spells guarding it. Then they sent letters to Sirius and Dumbledore. They even sent Hermione's cat to spy on me." Professor Delano said in an approving tone.

"They can take care of themselves exceedingly well, but their problems were bad enough when the Death Eaters were scattered and You-Know-Who barely existed, can they handle it now? I don't want them to get hurt."

"Now Molly, they can take care of themselves. They've done it time and time again. We know that nothing we say or do will help them stay out of trouble. We've tried."

"They can all stun, disarm, and use the leg-locker curse, the full body bind...and so many other spells. They all seem to be able to think on their feet. I'm not sure that there is anything else we can do to prepare those three...but I still feel that something terrible is going to happen," Professor Lupin said.

"Yes, I have no doubt that Ron, Harry, and Hermione can take care of themselves but what about the others? Why are the others here?" Professor Delano probed.

"Ginny had a very close brush with You-Know-Who, Fred and George are still at school and could easily wind up in something, they are a bit mischievous. They the three of them are still at school and need to watch out. Besides Bill, Charlie, and Percy are adults, they can handle this," Mr. Weasley told her.

At that point Harry stepped in. "We can manage. But I have a question. Has anyone told the Diggorys about Sirius, that way they don't attack when they see him?"

"He has a good point."

"I didn't think of it." Professor Delano began to frown.

"I can go to Harry's room and then once you've explained things then come back in." Sirius suggested.

"It sounds like a good idea."

"I'll keep you company." Harry followed Sirius out of the room. As soon as they were outside the doorway they couldn't hear anything from the room they had just left. They entered Harry's room and sat on the bed. "It's good to see you, again."

"Harry, I have half a mind to keep Dumbledore from ever letting you set foot out of the castle."

"I have Quidditch practice outside and my Magical Creatures class is outside too and I like visiting Hagrid. Besides what about Hogsmeadee?"

"Frankly Harry, I'm not sure that it would be safe for you to go to Hogsmeadee this year and you seem to have had plenty of accidents playing Quidditch."

"I love playing Quidditch! And there is no way I'm going to skip the Hogsmeadee trips. I'll use my invisibility cloak to sneak there and I'll use the Marauders Map. I'll—"

"Harry, I know I'd never be able to stop you. Whenever a Hogsmeadee visit gets posted I want you to send me an owl saying the day and when I can, I'll figure out how to meet you. I'd be injuring Gryffindor's chances for the house cup and the Quidditch Cup if I stopped you from playing. You play as well as your father. But I will be keeping an eye on you, so will Dumbledore. Between you and me, you all did a very good job checking up on Jenny."

"I trusted her, the idea of checking up on her was Hermione and Ron," admitted Harry.

"As I'm sure you heard earlier it seems no amount of spells we could try would keep you safe. You'd find away around anything that restrained you or Voldemort would discover the spells and break them to get you. Now I've had a few chats with Dumbledore. I'm not exactly sure how but he's got some protection spells on you. Voldemort can't harm you at the Dursleys and he won't harm you at Hogwarts. That's why I'm worried about Hogsmeadee and you staying with the Weasleys. Hopefully I'll see you during the visits to Hogsmeadee, but at Ron's you must be careful. Voldemort got you at the Tri-Wizard Tournament because you were transported out of Hogwarts. Once you get there don't leave. At Ron's don't go far from the house and don't go out alone. Be careful this year."

"I will, but could you tell me why Voldemort wanted to kill me fourteen years ago? It seems to be the million Galleon question that only Dumbledore can answer, and he's not telling."

"No, Harry I can't. I think your parents knew but they never told me," he sighed.

"What if I come up against Voldemort again? If I do fight Voldemort the wands will act the same again. The reverse spell thing happened last time could happen again. Should I get a new wand? Having the brother wand to the one Voldemort has shouldn't be coincidence, there has to be a reason."

"I'd love to tell you, Harry but I don't know. Bring it up when you talk to Dumbledore." Just then there was a knock at the door it opened.

Renata came in. "The Diggorys are here and my mom explained that you are here and that you are on our side. She told them that you'd tell the whole story later. Its time for both of you to come in." She led them back to room six.

Everyone was now assembled in the chairs. Harry and Sirius went and sat down together with Ron next to Harry and Professor Lupin next to Sirius. The chairs had been assembled into a circle. Across from Harry, Professor Delano rose. "I have put a privacy spell on the room to keep anyone from overhearing us. We know that our worst enemy has returned in flesh and blood. He has cost us loved ones and done much harm. We must review what we know about him recently and then decide if there is anything for us to do. We will start with his return. Harry will you tell us?"

Harry stood up and she sat down. "Professor, I think Sirius needs to tell his story first. There is a person in it who many people think is dead but in truth was one of the key people in Voldemort's return."

She stood, "Quite right. Sirius?"

As he stood both she and Harry sat down. Sirius glanced briefly at Professor Lupin, who nodded. Then Sirius began to speak. "James Potter and Remus Lupin were my best friends. Peter Pettigrew was our little tag-along. Remus is a were-wolf. But since he had magic he was eligible to come to Hogwarts. Dumbledore found a way of keeping him safe during the full moon. James and I noticed that he disappeared and soon enough we figured it out. We decided that we wanted to keep him company, if not as humans as animals. James and I became animagi and so did Peter. James was a stag, I'm a black dog, and Peter is a rat." He momentarily changed to his dog form and back. "Now here is where it gets more involved. Not many people know this but the Potters did know Voldemort was after them. A Fidelius charm was used to hide the Potters. It's when a secret is hidden inside a single person. As long as the secret keeper kept the secret and didn't reveal the Potters' hiding place Voldemort wouldn't be able to find them. I was going to be the secret keeper, but to put Voldemort off the trail I gave the job to Peter. He was a double-crossing spy! He told Voldemort where the Potters were. And Voldemort came for them. Just as Peter had shown his true colors Voldemort was destroyed.

"Peter was in a real mess. Then I realized what he had done. It was partly my fault for telling the Potters to use him as the secret keeper. I got to the house and I was going to take Harry but Hagrid was there and Dumbledore wanted Harry. I lent him my flying motorcycle and I began tracking down Peter. I found him the next day; he shouted to the street that I was the one who betrayed Lilly and James. He cut off his finger, then blew up the street and changed into his rat form disappearing into the sewer. Believe it or not it's true. He took up as the pet rat for a wizard family. When the family was featured in the Daily Prophet with Peter in the picture, he panicked. Does every one understand what I'm saying? Anyone who does, please raise your hand."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione raised their hands, as did Professors Delano and Lupin. To everyone's surprise so did Percy. "Scabbers wasn't really a rat! I kept him as a pet, before giving him to Ron. He was Pettigrew!"

"Yes. By staying with a wizard family Peter was able to keep up with the news in the wizarding world. Harry I think its time for your story."

Harry shook his head, "Almost."

"You're right. It was the summer before Ron's third year at Hogwarts when the Weasleys appeared in the Daily Prophet and when word got around that I was out of Azkaban Peter panicked. That year I came to Hogwarts looking for him, I found him, too. Everyone thought I was after Harry. When I found Pettigrew we were in the Shrieking Shack. Peter was there, and so were we. Remus, Ron, Harry, Hermione, Peter, and me were there, and we forced Peter to his human form. Harry was the only one with the right to decide what to do with Peter. He decided that we chain Peter up and take him to the school. On the way back to the school Peter escaped. He ran back to Voldemort searching for his old master. Then the Dementors came for me. Ron had a broken leg and became unconscious. Hermione passed out too. So did I. Harry managed to perform a Patronus causing the Dementors to retreat, someone came down from the school and found us. The children were taken up to the hospital wing and I was locked in a room and I confessed becoming an animagi to Dumbledore and told him about Peter. Some how or other after he left, the children helped me escape on a Hippogriff named Buckbeak. I kept in touch with them and Dumbledore. Last year, I came when Harry was transported back to Hogwarts after Voldemort had attacked him. Dumbledore tried to explain the attack to the Minister of Magic but he couldn't be reasoned with. I was sent to Remus to explain what had happened and to get help from some old friends. That's when we came in contact with Jenny again. But I think its Harry's turn now."

Sirius sat down and Harry stood. "Last year was the year that Alastor Moody, also known as 'Mad-Eye' came out of retirement to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Most of us thought he was the best teacher we'd had for that class other than Professor Lupin left. We didn't know that it wasn't really Moody. When Bartius Crouch sent his son to Azkaban he didn't keep him there. Crouch's wife sensed she was dying and asked that she be sent in her son's place, using Polyjuice Potion Mr. Crouch got his son out of there and left his wife in his place. All those years Mr. Crouch's son, Barty, was kept hidden under an invisibility cloak and the house-elf, Winky, took care of him. He was under the Imperius curse to keep him from causing trouble. Bertha Jorkins came in one day and discovered him. Mr. Crouch used a memory charm on her, to make her forget. Then she went to visit relatives in Albania. Pettigrew found her and brought her to Voldemort. Voldemort broke the memory charm and after getting all the information he needed, he killed her. They learned Mr. Crouch's son was still alive and willing to help, they also learned that Moody was coming out of retirement. They went to go find Barty. They positioned him at Hogwarts in place of Moody, so that someone from the Dark Side could keep an eye on me. I wasn't supposed get hurt until Voldemort could do it himself. The third event of the Tri-Wizard Tournament was the maze. The last thing in it was the giant spider. Cedric got there about the same time I did and we beat it together. My leg had been broke by it. Cedric would have reached the cup first; he could still run. He said it wasn't fair and for him to win since I helped him. I told him it wasn't fair for me to win because he helped me too. In the end we decided to grab the Cup at the same time because either way it was a Hogwarts victory." Harry's voice was close to breaking so he took a breath and a few seconds to calm himself, "Barty had bewitched the Tri-Wizard Cup and turned it into a port-key. Cedric and I were transported to a Muggle cemetery. Pettigrew appeared carrying a wizard's robe and some sort of creature. Voldemort was inside the creature and . . .he killed Cedric. Pettigrew tied me to a tombstone. He put the creature in a cauldron with a liquid in it. He recited a spell and cut off one of his arms from the elbow down; from the ground grounded bone was raised and it went in the cauldron. I think Voldemort told me it was from his father. Flesh, bone, and blood. The 'blood of his enemy' was last part in the potion that renewed Voldemort."

"Couldn't it have been any witch or wizard that was against Him?" asked Mrs. Diggory.

"Yes, it could have been the blood from any witch or wizard who hated him, but if he was to gain back all his lost power it had to be mine," Harry said.

"This could be important, so think carefully: What were the words of the spell? What happened?"

"Pettigrew dropped Voldemort into the cauldron he'd set up, it had some stuff in it already, I don't know what. I was tied to a tombstone. He raised some bones from the ground that he said belonged to Voldemort's father. He said something about them being given unknowingly. Next he cut off part of his arm and something about it being given by a servant. Then Pettigrew took a knife and cut my arm putting the blood in the liquid. 'Blood of an enemy forcibly taken you will'…something or other I can't remember the words. It was complete. He returned. Voldemort summoned the Death Eaters.

"To prove to the Death Eaters there that Voldemort was a greater wizard than me he had me untied and Pettigrew gave back my wand. We were going to duel. There was something he hadn't counted on. The Phoenix feather in my wand came from the same Phoenix as the one in Voldemort's. If brother wands are forced to fight against one another they don't work properly. Something strange happened and we were encased together in a golden orb thing and a sort of golden thread connected our wands with little I don't know, beads on the thread. The wands began to vibrate. Both of us were pushing the beads toward the other. For a while he was winning then I got a bead to touch the tip of his wand and he the spells he did came out of his wand, in reverse order.

"An echo or sort of shadow came out of the end of his wand, it was Cedric. Next came Bertha, and a Muggle he had killed. Last came my parents. They all talked to me and hissed at Voldemort circling around us inside globe. My parents told me that…and then Cedric asked me to take his body back. They also said that the shadows or ghosts or whatever they were wouldn't last long after I broke the connection. When they told me to I broke the thread and while the shadows crowded around Voldemort I ran. He was shrieking for someone to kill me. I got Cedric and the Cup and we're transported back to Hogwarts.

"Dumbledore told me to stay while he was talking to someone but the man we thought was Moody took me up to the school. He wanted to know what happened and he was very upset when I told him that Voldemort forgave the Death Eaters. He wanted to kill me but then Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall came in and knocked him out. We found the real Moody hidden in his trunk. When the Polyjuice Potion wore off we saw who it really was. Under the influence of truth potion Barty told his story. I told mine to Dumbledore in his office where Sirius was waiting for us. Moody was brought to the hospital wing and Fudge came for Barty. He came with Dementors and they performed the Kiss on Barty. When Dumbledore brought Sirius—as a dog—and me to the hospital wing Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione were waiting. McGonagall and the minister came in. Dumbledore was quite upset that Barty's story was lost and the Minister wouldn't believe Dumbledore or me. Fudge wouldn't believe me because Rita Skeeter wrote that I was mentally unstable and since it was in the paper he believed it. He didn't listen to Dumbledore because he just couldn't accept it; it was just too awful to be true. After that Fudge just left and Dumbledore began figuring out whom to call. Bill contacted his dad. Sirius went to see Lupin. And Professor Snape went somewhere. I think Hagrid went to act as ambassador to the giants so we could get them before Voldemort did. That's about where my story ends. This summer Ron, Hermione, and I came here to stay a few days and buy our new school things. We met Professor Delano and now we're all here."

Professor Delano stood up. "We know our problem is to get rid of Voldemort; hopefully for good. We have reviewed all the facts. Now we know what our goal is there is just one question left: How?"****


	5. Endless Discussions

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER FIVE: Endless Discussions**

"Why don't we just kill him?" Fred asked.

Harry sighed. "Because he can't be killed. Voldemort mentioned immortality experiments. At least one of them must have worked. We've got all the facts, we just need a solution."

"If we can't kill him why don't we just trap him forever? It seems like the most sensible thing to do," Renata responded.

"Do either of you listen?" asked Professor Delano. "Fred was closer to being right. If we could find him, yes we _could_ kill him. Voldemort settled for his old life and his old strength back. But we don't know how long we have to…dispose…of him. He seems to have partially grasped immortality and he is likely to use his spells again to bring back his immortality. We don't know how long before the spells will be cast and we shouldn't try to chance it. If we killed him and he didn't die his spirit would float along and join someone else's body until he could create one of his own. The best thing would be to find a place where we could trap him forever. Unfortunately we don't know of one. People are working on something that they hope will do the trick but this type of magic has never been attempted before. Does anyone have any helpful ideas?"

"Could we find a basilisk and have him petrified? If you only see a basilisk as a reflection or through something you don't die, you only get petrified," Harry put in.

"There are no basilisks left in England! There haven't been even been any sightings in over four hundred years!" exclaimed Percy.

"Shows how much you know," retorted Ron.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" scoffed Percy.

Harry could sense the fight coming on, "Just forget it, Percy. We saw a Basilisk and we killed. If there aren't any in England still couldn't we get one from somewhere?"

"That's dangerous work, even if you could find one. Trying to capture a live basilisk is nearly impossible even if you found people willing to do it," Mr. Diggory said.

"Charlie, you and your friends deal dragons. I've met dragons they are nightmares, a basilisk can't be much worse. Wouldn't you guys like a challenge like it?"

"Harry you're right and you are wrong. The dragons I deal with can be pretty rough but they are nothing compared to a creature that could kill you just by looking at you. I don't even know how you managed to make it alive away from the one you met. You are extremely lucky."

"Dumbledore has a Phoenix named Fawkes and according to Dumbledore because I showed so much loyalty him in the Chamber Fawkes came to me, and he had the sorting hat. Fawkes distracted the basilisk and scratched out its eyes so it couldn't petrify or kill me. But I guess it still could have gotten me with its fangs or squeezed me to death. I'd be willing to go up against a basilisk if it meant getting rid of Voldemort. Do I really want to be looking over my shoulder for Voldemort the rest of my life? I think not."

"I'll help with the basilisk," offered Fred.

"Me, too. Sounds like fun," added George.

Mrs. Weasley shot them a look. "You are here because we thought you could handle this. If not, go sit in Ron's room and wait until we finish."

"Yes, Mum." The twins answered hastily.

Mrs. Weasley turned to Harry, "Dear, now you mustn't get so upset. I'm not sure that even your luck can withstand a basilisk again. You're perfectly safe at Hogwarts, Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"That's just the point. But there is no way that even Dumbledore could watch me all the time. He doesn't always know everything that goes on right away. What am I supposed do, spend my whole life going between the Dursleys and Hogwarts? They're the only places I'm safe according to Dumbledore. I can't stay Hogwarts forever and if it were up to me I'd never see the Dursleys again."

Mrs. Diggory looked at Harry, startled. "Your relatives can't be all that bad."

"Somebody has to agree with me on this!"

"The Dursleys are rotten," said Ron

"They aren't very pleasant," admitted Hermione.

"No way," Fred said.

"Definitely not," agreed George.

"They were a bit unfriendly," Mr. Weasley told them.

"See what I mean?" asked Harry. "Life there is miserable. Besides, it's not only me that's at risk from Voldemort. It's all the witches and wizards who aren't on his side. I don't want the Dark Days to come back...and I don't think anyone else here does either." He glanced around the room, looking for support.

Sirius spoke up first. "No one here does, Harry. I'd take you away from the Dursleys, I've wanted to ever since the night your parents died, but I can't. Not yet. As far as almost everyone _not_ in this room is concerned I'm a murderer who worked for the Dark Side. Unless Pettigrew is captured it stays that way."

"Sirius is right," replied Lupin. "Only your godfather could legally take you away and while in hiding he can't do that. None of us want the Dark Days back but if we can't find a solution and do all that we can, they will. A basilisk is one suggestion but it is extremely dangerous and should remain out of the question. What is another option?"

Not a single idea came to mind.

After they all brooded in silence for a time. After a sigh, Professor Delano at last broke the thick silence, "Sirius, Remus, please continue your work with the reconstruction you were speaking of. Arthur, Molly, your instructions will be sent by owl when we have decided on them. Amos, you and your wife keep things running at the Ministry as best you can. Try to help gather for our cause. Bill, Charlie, Percy, keep your eyes out and do what you can. As for those of you still attending Hogwarts," she turned to the twins, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her daughter. "_Stay out of trouble_. If anything else if is needed of anyone you will be contacted. I guess that if we don't have anything to say the meeting is over. If anyone comes up with more suggestions you all know whom to contact."

The Diggorys stood up. "Amos and I will be leaving now. It was good to see you all." The two of them turned and walked out.

"Sirius, we should be going now."

"Not yet Remus, I want to speak with Harry again." Sirius turned around to Ron and Hermione. "I'd like to speak to you two, too." With that Sirius led Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Harry's room. Sirius stood looking at the other three while they sat on the bed. "I don't want to hear that any of you get in trouble this year." The others began to laugh seeing Sirius trying look so stern. "I mean it! When Harry gets in trouble so do the two of you and I don't want anybody hurt. You've all been rendered unconscious from your mischief. Hermione's been petrified. Ron broke his leg. The three of you keep putting yourself in serious danger. Harry, how many times have you almost been killed?"

"At least four. I lost count," he admitted sheepishly. "But crossing the street could get me killed! It doesn't mean I should stay inside all the time. And I don't go looking for trouble. Honestly! It sort of follows me."

"You could have fooled me, Harry. You overhear things and check them out. But because you all keep your searches secret and you feel no else can ever save everybody and you all go into danger without thinking."

"I resent that! We think plenty," said Ron. "Putting facts together and keeping your ears open as well as taking care of schoolwork is plenty of thinking. Besides, we'd get help but nobody would believe us if we said something."

"Why don't you leave it to the professors? Or another adult?"

"We handle things quite well on our own and even Aurorers don't tell everything when they are still just guessing." Hermione frowned. "Ron was right when he said the three of us could teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. We have more experience than any other kid at school. Before he crossed over Quirrell might have been okay. Lockhart was hopeless. Lupin was really the best. Moody's impostor doesn't count. Delano we haven't had yet so I don't know about her, it'll be something if she makes it through the year, though."

The door opened and Professor Delano stepped in, arms crossed and wearing an odd smile on her face. "I can assure you that I'll last for at least a whole year. I'm tougher than I look. Sirius, Remus wants you; says its time to go. I am going to speak with these three a bit longer." Sirius said goodbye to everyone in the room. When he left, Professor Delano continued to talk once more in a stern, no-nonsense voice. "You three have to tell one of the professors when you know something. If you don't trust us tell Dumbledore. If you keep it all to yourself you've got to deal with it yourself and I don't think even the three of you could handle it. Just _think_ for a minute about what you're dealing with. Voldemort does want his power back. But just as much or possibly more he wants revenge on Harry. Harry, are you _listening_? There are people who want you _dead_! Students at the school aren't all your friends they'd gladly give their parents information to pass on directly to Voldemort. All of you need to be careful and stay out of trouble. We don't want you dead, we like you Harry. Something really bad will happen if you die. I'm not sure what but its got to be something or Dumbledore wouldn't be so worried. Voldemort wants you dead now because all three of you keep humiliating him. The reason he wanted to kill Harry before must still exist and be really important or Dumbledore wouldn't be so anxious. Ron, Hermione, if any Death Eaters or Voldemort found you they wouldn't be hesitating in killing you either! Look what happened to Cedric and all he did was show up. The Dark Side has plenty reason to do worse that just killing you right away if they ever caught you. There are worse things. You're all in extreme danger. And they'd do even worse to Harry. The Crucio Curse! The Imperious Curse—"

"I _can_ break that one. Voldemort tried to make me beg for mercy before our duel and I wouldn't do it. I had to practice trying to break that curse in Defense Against the Dark Arts that year."

"He can break that curse."

"Maybe that one time against Voldemort you succeeded, but can you count on that again? Could you stand up to many people using that curse on you all at the same time? Magic coming at you from every direction? Hate raining down on you? I think not, you'd never make it! They could make you do awful things. Kill people…" They could all see the fear in Professor Delano's face and hear it in her voice. She shuddered and took a deep breath.

"We'll be good."

"Don't worry about us."

"We can handle anything that comes our way."

"Don't get cocky. You've had way too many close calls already. Be careful." With that Professor Delano left. Tom had come upstairs to dim the lights in the hallway and when he heard the voices coming from Harry's room. They were saying something about Death Eaters and extreme danger for someone in the room. He had lingered by the door until he saw the knob begin to turn. The he moved on to dim the hall lights. Jennifer went back to her room shaking her head.

At the same time all the others who had been at the meeting were going to bed as well. Bill, Charlie and Percy went home since they didn't have any shopping to do the next day. Mr. Weasley had work in the morning so he went home too. The others went to their rooms and everyone slept soundly.

When Harry woke up Hedwig was poking him with her beak, she had Dumbledore's reply to the letter they sent the afternoon before. Harry got dressed quickly then brought Hermione and Ron in to read it. It just wouldn't be quite fair without them. Harry stroked Hedwig until Ron and Hermione came in. Then she flew to her cage. They opened the letter. It read:

_Dear Harry, Ron,_ _and Hermione;_

_ The Delanos are clear by all accounts. They are friends and you should take their advice. Do not go too far alone. Stay where good wizards can keep an eye on you. Don't get into trouble. Stay away from strangers._

_Your Concerned Headmaster_,

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Well, I'm glad we got answered; but I think everyone's is worrying a bit too much. It'll probably take longer than just one summer for Voldemort to get his old alliances back with all the steps Dumbledore is taking. My guess is that he'll wait and gather strength quietly then do something really big. I think if he's going for huge he'll try to take Hogwarts. If not, he'll try to kill me."

"You're taking this far too lightly, Harry."

"No I'm not, Hermione. I've got good news, though: my scar hasn't all summer. Dumbledore thinks my scar hurts when Voldemort is feeling particularly murderous or is near me. I take the absence of any sudden scar-pain as a good sign. But I don't feel like arguing, it's to early in the morning. Ron, is the rest of your family up yet?"

"I think so. We're going shopping right after we eat so we better bring our supply lists with us." Ron and Hermione left the room to get their lists out of their trunks while Harry got his out. He met Ron and Hermione on the stairs and they went to a table where the rest of the Weasleys and the Delanos were already beginning to eat.

George called, "We thought you'd never get up."

Fred added, "We figured we could shop for you and pile all the books on top of each of you."

"Not if I stuff you both in trunks," Ron told them as he sat down.

"No more threats from anyone or you'll all be walking to Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley told them. "Do all of you have your supply lists with you?"

All the children nodded. Everyone helped themselves to lots of pancakes and everyone ate in silence for a while. "Will _Flourish and Blotts_ be our first stop?" Renata asked her mom a little while later when everyone was almost finished.

"Yes, it will after Gringotts. And then—"

"But I thought you both already did your school shopping?" Harry inquired.

"No, not really. We decided to wait and shop with the rest of you. I am in most of the same classes as Ron, Hermione, and you. We were at _Ollivanders _and_ Quality Quidditch Supplies_ yesterday."

"_You_ play Quidditch?" Ron asked disbelivingly.

Renata tossed her head back and chuckled silently for a moment before answering. "I'm a Keeper. But I've played as Seeker, a Beater, and as a Chaser when there wasn't anyone else. I happen to know that several people at this table play for Gryffindor." She gave the twins and Harry a couple of sidelong looks, before bursting into a grin.

About ten minutes later they were all strolling down Diagon Alley. They were all headed to a large white building, taller than any of the shops. Outside the shiny bronze doors, was a goblin in a gold and scarlet uniform that bowed them as they strolled inside the building. The next set of doors –silver this time— also had a pair of goblins with the same uniform bowed them in. The next huge room was filled with goblins sitting at counters talking with witches or wizards, sometimes weighing jewels or checking for authenticity. The group went to a free goblin and Professor Delano spoke up first. "I am here to retrieve some money from the my vault. I am Jennifer Delano." Before the goblin could begin his question she spoke again and took out a small key. "Here is my key." She said as she handed it over.

"Everything seems in order," he replied handing it back. "Anything else?"

The others all stated their business and at last everything was in order.

"Since there are so many of you I will call two carts." He turned his head and called, "Griphook! Longshark!" Two goblins came out of a door nearby. Harry wasn't sure why, but the name Griphook sounded vaguely familiar. "Griphook, please take Ms. Delano, Miss Delano, and Mr. Harry Potter to their vaults. Longshark, please Mrs. Molly Weasley and her children to the Weasley safe." The two goblins led them all to doors on the opposite side of the hall. Griphook led Harry and the Delanos to one door and Longshark led the Weasleys to a door a few doors away. Harry and the Delanos climbed into the waiting cart along with Griphook soon they were going downward and gaining speed all the while, about ten minutes later they stopped by one of the many doors on the wall. They all got out of the cart and the professor put her key in the door and the vault opened. She put Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts into the bag she was carrying before locking the vault.

They all clambered back into the cart and it took off again, going even further down until it stopped once more. Harry put his key in the hole and the door swung open. He piled gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts in to his bag. Then he locked the safe and climbed back in the cart. It started back all the hundreds of miles up to get to the main floor of Gringotts. When they reached the surface the Weasleys and Hermione were waiting for them. As they all walked out to the open daylight they felt the warm sun on their faces. They entered _Flourish and Blotts _and looked at their lists to see what books they needed to buy. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata all needed: _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 4)_ by Miranda Goshawk, _An Advanced Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch, and _The Habits and Hidings of Rare and Magical Creatures_ by Guido Draconis. Harry and Ron also needed _A Clairvoyant's Guide to Knowing All_ by T. L. Fortune.

Hermione was reaching for _Arthimacy, the Greater Understanding, Advanced Guide_ by Erik Runerd, when another hand met hers. It was Renata's. In unison they said, "I didn't know you were taking Arithmacy." They both laughed and each grabbed a copy then went to meet Ron and Harry at the register to pay for their books. Then they all went to the Apothecary to refill their bags of potions ingredients. The Apothecary smelled awful but was, as always, quite interesting. It sold newt tails, beetle eyes, horned slugs and other various items.

After that the group split up; Mrs. Weasley and the girls went off with Renata's mom. The boys decided to stick around the joke shop instead. Fred and George bought some Filibusters Fabulous No Heat Wet-Start Fireworks, extra-large bags of Dungbombs and a couple of feather quills that put out purple smoke if you wrote with them. The twins' friend Lee Jordan was in there too. He looked into buying a mirror that showed you at you worst when you looked into it. Harry and Ron purchased a few oddments as well. Ron bought some flowers that turned into lizards if you said "thank you", while Harry favored a bottle of elixir that gave snowballs extra speed when you threw them if you added a drop of it to the snowball first. Of course they both picked up Dungbombs and Filibuster Fireworks, but not as many as Fred and George. After paying, Harry and the Weasley boys walked around a bit then met up with all the girls in front of _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ where Renata admiring a full set of purple Quidditch robes with the initials AAA.

They all talked for a while on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron around noon for lunch. Hermione and Renata had discovered that they were in all the same classes. Fred and George made a point of letting Renata know that they were the Beaters for Gryffindor and that they planned to _stay_ that way. "If your going to play for Gryffindor remember we don't need any Beaters," Fred warned.

"Or any Seekers," added Harry. None of them wanted to give up their place on the team. Quidditch was one of Harry's favorite things to do. It was definitely better than any Muggle sports Harry had ever played. He'd been a little disappointed last year when there was no Quidditch because of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

"Don't worry. I heard you need a new Keeper. Wood graduated, he won't mind if I take his place. But," she added cocking her head. "I definitely wouldn't mind taking his other position. Though I imagine several other people feel the same way, too." She sighed and let out a little laugh. Oliver Wood had been team Captain and was a terrific Keeper. "Then again, who knows what house I'll be in?"

Harry looked at her, "You seem to have done your homework. I imagine you know the names of all the players on the other teams, too?"

Renata, "No, actually."

They all talked a little while longer before Mrs. Weasley and Renata's mom came over. "It's almost time to leave. I want the five of you upstairs to pack; we're leaving for home in half an hour. Renata, you're welcome to come visit us anytime this summer, as long as your mother approves. I want the rest of you upstairs, now," said Mrs. Weasley.

Harry, Ron, Fred and George headed upstairs to their rooms followed by Ginny and Hermione. When Harry had put his new books into his trunk he went to see Ron; Hermione was still putting away the things she had bought that day.

"Twenty-five days until we go back to Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I can't believe we'll be taking the O.W.L.s this year." O.W.L.s were Ordinary Wizarding Levels, tests taken at Hogwarts when you were fifteen.

"Hermione will have study schedules for us by Christmas."

"Do you really think things will be as bad this year as everyone says?"

"I'm not sure, if Dumbledore is actually willing to talk to us himself during the Start of School Feast it's got to be big. I can't ever remember him_ not_ being there. The Headmaster is always there when the new students are being sorted."

At that moment Hermione bounded in the room. "Ron, Harry! It's time to go. Everyone is waiting. I've got to go bring my trunk down, too."

"We can't just sprint down the stairs carrying our trunks. I'll help you with yours," Ron offered. Then after rolling his eyes and shrugging, Ron shuffled off after Hermione to help carry her trunk downstairs.

Up in the his room Harry stared absentmindedly out the window until he saw a flash of scarlet and gold pass by, when he stuck his head out the window he couldn't find it. Harry perched Hedwig's cage on top of his trunk and decided to make a mental note to tell Ron and Hermione about the bird. He'd seen it twice now. Ron came back upstairs to help Harry bring his trunk downstairs where Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were waiting; Fred and George had already gone with Ginny back home. Ron ran back upstairs to carry down the traveling bag he'd been using for the last couple of days. He was back down in a moment. This would be Hermione's first time traveling by Floo Powder. Mrs. Weasley offered her advice. "Keep your elbows tucked in and speak clearly. Step up to the fire and throw the powder in and say 'The Burrow.' When you see Fred and George, get out and you'll be in our kitchen."

Hesitantly Hermione took a pinch of powder out of a jar with yellow flowers on it. Stepping up to the fire she announced, "The Burrow." And she was gone. Harry went next.

Before stepping up to fireplace Harry put his glasses in his pocket for safety. With some help he got his trunk in front fire and he stood beside it. Once Harry threw the powder in the flames just felt warm and nice. In a voice loud and clear enough so there would be any mistakes Harry spoke to the flames, "The Burrow." Immediately Harry, along with his trunk, was whisked into the flames. After spinning a bit he saw several red heads and a brunette, and he was thrown out of the fire and was on the floor of the Weasleys' kitchen. When he got up not only were Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione there, but Percy, Charlie, and Bill as well. Charlie picked up Harry's trunk and moved it off to the side, because a moment later Ron and his bag came through followed by his mother. She got up and dusted herself off.

"Harry, Hermione," She smiled. "You know where you're staying so why don't you put you're bags away. Ron, Ginny, help them." Ginny helped Hermione carry her trunk up to Ginny's room. At the same time Harry and Ron were on their way to Ron's room. When Ron kicked the door open—he didn't have any free hands—and the room was exactly as Harry remembered it. When you stepped in it seemed as though you were in the sun, the room was almost completely bright orange. Posters of the Chuddley Cannons Quidditch team cover his walls. His comforter was also themed with the Cannons. On top of a tank that once held a bull frog, was an orange hat with Chuddley Cannons on it. In a corner on top a stack of books Ron threw his wand.

Both Harry and Ron collapsed on the bed. "I'll get my bag from downstairs later. Tomorrow want to play Quidditch on the hill?"

"Sure. Think Hermione will play?"

"Probably not. She'll just hang out with Ginny. Fred and George will play, I think. If Charlie and Bill get to stick around a few days they will, too."

"Want to play Wizard Chess? My set is in my trunk."

"Sure," Ron got up to get his board and very battered players. They had once belonged to his grandfather. Harry opened his trunk to get out his set. Ron happened to be very good at Wizard Chess. It was exactly the same as regular Chess except that the players were alive which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at. Harry and Ron felt it was good for her.

Ron and Harry played three games and watched Ron's players drag Harry's across the board whenever apiece was taken. Ron won all three matches though Harry did better in the second one than either of them excepted. "Hermione is getting too bossy again. Don't you think?"

"Not really, she's fine, what makes you think that?" Harry just lost a bishop.

"Er—the way she's been ordering us around...and she made me carry her trunk downstairs at the Leaky Cauldron."

"No she didn't Ron, I thought you offered?"

"Well, she was scowling at me as if saying 'you'd better help me or else.' I had to help her."

Harry would have mentioned that Hermione had been smiling not scowling when Ron _offered_ to help carry her trunk, but he would be staying in the same room as Ron from now until June. He didn't want a fight before they even got to Hogwarts. Instead he changed the subject, "What do you think this year will be like?"

"Do you mean will there be extra security and stuff?"

"I dunno. It was a just thought. Forget it."

"No, I won't. You didn't ask that for no reason. What is it?"

"I don't know it's just—"

There was a knock at the door and Hermione poked her head in. "Its almost time for dinner. You're supposed to come down and help set up." With that she turned her heel and left. Ron and Harry got up, trailing after her. As he walked downstairs Harry began to feel there was something wrong with Hermione, but he couldn't put his finger on it just yet. They walked in silence. When they were down in the kitchen Mrs. Weasley had her wand out and was stirring some pots on the stove.

She saw the three of them standing there and smiled. "Could you take some plates outside? Bill and Charlie will be leaving the day after tomorrow and after that will all be able to have dinner inside but until then it's just too crowded in here." All of them brought plates out to the tables set up out in the yard. Crookshanks was chasing garden gnomes around the yard, Ginny laughed as she watched. As they went back in Harry looked over at the grandfather clock in the living room, it had eleven hands each with one of the Weasleys' names on it. Ten hands were pointed to HOME. Only Mr. Weasley's wasn't, he was at work. For a brief second the hand labeled Arthur Weasley was at TRAVELING, then he was HOME.

"Dad's back!" shouted Ron who was also looking at the clock as well. Mr. Weasley had appeared just inside the doorway. He looked tired.

"Good evening, Molly," said to his wife. Turning his head, "Hello Ron, Harry, Hermione."

"Dinner is just about ready Arthur. Why don't you go to the backyard?" She gave her son a very meaningful stare and Ron got the point at once. He helped his dad up and led him outside. After Mrs. Weasley handed them cutlery to carry out Harry and Hermione followed. The tables were out in the garden with the plates they had brought out earlier. Lanterns and chairs were there as well. Ron led his father to a seat as the others came to greet him.

A few minutes later Mrs. Weasley came out of the house carrying the rest of the food not already on the table and they all sat down to eat. Down at one end of the table Bill and Fred were debating which rules of Quidditch they would change if they could and Charlie was telling George about a really big dragon he found near Hogwarts just a week before. "It was huge, I've never seen a Chinese Fireball as big as that one. It was twice the size of a full-grown Hiberdean Black. It took three-dozen of us to stun the thing. But when we were going to load it up to take it away the spell wore out and it flew off."

Ginny stopped whispering with Hermione and looked up at Charlie. Charlie saw her. "I'm only joking," he said hastily. He knew he'd be in trouble if his mum saw he had made Ginny upset. "Really. Fred knows I was kidding. I found a baby dragon down in Kent. It was only a common Welsh Green, nothing to get worried about. Plenty far away from Hogwarts. It was in a Muggle's yard. I wouldn't really have needed to do anything except take it away, but the Muggle living there saw a puff of smoke come out of its mouth so I had to put a charm on him before taking it away."

"Charlie," asked Harry "We were thinking about playing Quidditch tomorrow, want to come? It'd be nice to see the legendary Charlie Weasley that Wood was always talking about."

"Yeah, sure. I was very disappointed that after I left Gryffindor took so long for you guys to win the Quidditch Cup again."

"Bill, are you in? Fred? George?"

"Sure," Fred and George answered in unison.

"Why not? I do have my broom with me as a matter of fact. What about you Perce?"

"Bill, I have some very important work tomorrow."

Mr. Weasley had been listening and leaned across the table to answer. "Percy, I talked to Amos last night and you have tomorrow off, to spend time with your brothers and sister. If all of your brothers will be flying I can't think of a better way to spend your time off tomorrow. The report on Sphinx diets can wait." Amos Diggory was Percy's new boss; his old boss, Mr. Crouch, had been murdered the year before.

"Well, I guess I'll play Quidditch with all of you tomorrow. But I don't know where my broom is I haven't used it in ages."

"Percy, you can take some turns on my broomstick. Ginny? Hermione? Are you in?"

Hermione looked at Ginny before answering. "Well, I guess we could but we'll have to take turns to because we don't have brooms."

"It's settled. We'll all play Quidditch tomorrow."

After that, conversation seemed to change. Hermione was consulting Percy about advice for taking the O.W.L.s and Fred and George were whispering together. Harry suspected they were talking about Weasleys Wizard Wheezes a line of joke products they invented. Their mum had found out about it the year before and had them tear up their order forms. Mrs. Weasley was continuing her ongoing debate with Bill about the way he dressed: she did not approve his earring or long hair. "Please just let me trim it? They must think you look awful at work? It's just silly like that."

Bill's answers were always the same. "_No_ Mum. They don't care as long as I do my work. I like my hair the way it is. And the earring stays."

"Please..."

"No, mum." Bill's hair was pulled back in a long ponytail, as it had been when Harry had seen it last year; although now the fang earring was replaced with a claw earring.

Harry turned to Ron, "Are Bill and Charlie staying in your room tonight, or with Fred and George?"

"Instead of dividing it with four in one room and two in the other we're divided up three and three. Bill will be in with Fred and George. You and Charlie are with me."

"When we go in I want to talk to you."

"Okay."

Eventually everyone had finished talking and eating and everyone felt sleepy. One by one they drifted indoors. Percy first, shortly followed by his parents, then Fred and George dragged Bill inside—they didn't want him waking them up if he came in afterwards. Ginny was tired and got up too. Charlie followed Ginny, and only Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left. They all got up without saying anything. Harry and Ron stopped with Hermione at Ginny's door. They all said goodnight and Hermione went inside. Harry and Ron continued up the stairs.

They reached the top and all was silent (not even the ghoul in the attic stirred). Together Ron and Harry step inside the very orange room. They carefully stepped over Charlie and got ready for bed. Ron climbed into his bed, and Harry lay down on the camping bed next to Ron's bed. Ron leaned over to whisper to Harry. "I think I figured out what's weird with Hermione."

"Really what is it?"

"She's being a girl."

"Ron, Hermione has always been a girl."

"I mean she's acting like it. Whispering with Ginny, laughing with Renata, shopping with Ginny and my mum and the Delanos instead of with us after leaving _Flourish and Blotts_. It all makes sense."

"Maybe you are right. She always felt like one of us. She never really had any other friends at Hogwarts. I guess Renata and her might become friends; they seemed to like each other. It will be good for her." He yawned, "I wonder what took Hermione so long to pack when we were leaving the Leaky Cauldron. She had more bags than we did. I wonder what was in them?"

"Books most likely."

"I don't think so."

"Harry, at dinner you said there was something you needed to tell me. What was it?"

"I'm tired. I'll tell you in the morning," Harry lied. He wasn't especially tired but when he had turned over he noticed that Charlie was awake. Harry wasn't sure about telling anyone else what he meant to tell Ron and Hermione, at least, not yet. ****


	6. Summer at the Burrow

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This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER SIX: Summer at the Burrow**

The next day Harry was awakened by Mrs. Weasley gently shaking him and calling, "Get up, dear," before she moved on to wake up Ron and Charlie. Harry greatly preferred this as opposed to his Aunt Petunia shrieking for him to wake up. It was a very welcome change. 

When Mrs. Weasley had gone from the room Ron and Harry began to get dressed. When Harry was putting his shoes on he heard a thud from the ceiling dropped the shoe he was holding. He had forgotten for a moment the ghoul in the attic who dropped pipes or screamed whenever things were a bit too quiet. Harry shook his head and finished. About five minutes later he and Ron were downstairs in the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was making breakfast. The table seemed to have a lack of people around it this morning. Fred George, and Bill were there in their pajamas, Fred and George looking more than a bit bleary-eyed; Percy sat eating in his slacks and a neatly buttoned shirt with a sweater-vest over it; Mr. Weasley had already left for work; Charlie was still upstairs because he wanted five more minutes of sleep; Ginny and Hermione were also missing.

The table had toast and eggs and bacon. There was a jug of orange juice. Mrs. Weasley was urging Harry to eat more when Hermione and Ginny came down the stairs. There was something different about Hermione today. What was it? There was nothing different about the way she dressed. And she wasn't wearing make-up. Harry nudged Ron and nodded at Hermione.

"Hermione, did you do something to you're hair this morning?" Ron asked, after looking at her for a couple of minutes.

It seemed to Harry that Hermione blushed slightly, but she responded coolly enough. "I just put it back in a braid so my hair would be out of my face when we played Quidditch later." Harry thought he saw her glance up at Mrs. Weasley with a smile on her face, but he wasn't sure. After breakfast, which Charlie did eventually come down to join, those who were still in pajamas got dressed and everyone who had one got out their broom. As the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry went outside with their brooms George grabbed a couple of oranges for them to play with. They couldn't use real Quidditch balls because it would be awfully hard to explain to the Muggles in the town below if they got away. They all marched up to the hill.

When they all reached the top Harry went in the air first and Charlie followed him right away, with Fred and George trailing behind. Ron came into the air on s his old Shooting Star. Not long after, Percy came up a little unsteadily on Bill's broom. Percy circled around the hill with Fred and George constantly crossing in front of him, over him, and under him. Harry and Charlie dove in and out of spirals and dives until they were both breathless. "I have to hand it to you, Harry. You are a great flyer. I should have remember from last year, but I wanted to make sure."

"Wood wasn't exaggerating when he talked about you, Charlie."

Next, Bill took his broom from Percy, Ginny and Hermione each got on one of the twins' brooms and they were off. Ron climbed on Charlie's broom and went back in the air. They threw things to catch and they dodged each other. Hermione and Ginny were a little uneasy on the brooms because they didn't really fly much. Harry and Ron were much better flyers.

The rest of the day all of them took turns on all the brooms, particularly Harry's. Charlie was definitely impressed with the way it handled. It was nearly sundown before they headed back inside. They had all spent a good day laughing and joking; even Percy had enjoyed himself. Harry hung back to talk with Ron and Hermione after the others had gone. While Harry was taking one more lap around the hillock he spotted some red and gold a little a ways, the shape moved on toward a shadowy figure. Harry motioned for Ron and Hermione to come up, both still had brooms in their hands and rose to join him immediately. "Look!" He whispered. They too, saw the red and gold bird (or whatever it was) and the figure that slipped behind a tree just after he came into their vision. When he couldn't see the figure or bird any more Harry glided downward to the ground.

"What was that?" Ron asked when he too had reached the ground.

"I don't know. I've seen the red and gold thing three times now, but never the shadow."

"I think you should tell someone about."

"Hermione, it was probably nothing. Harry, where else have you seen the bird or creature or...you know what I mean?"

"I saw it when we were coming out _Ollivanders _and outside the window our last day at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Are you sure you don't what that is or who might have sent it."

Harry sighed. "I think it might have been Dumbledore. Phoenix's are about that color. Dumbledore must have sent him. Sirius didn't like the idea of my being anywhere that wasn't home or school. I guess its been following me. Lets go."

As they all tramped back to the house Harry began to think about the meeting and just about everything else that had concerned him and magic that summer. _Nobody trusts me not to kill myself or get killed! Things can't be that dangerous. If they are, why aren't all the other kids at school being warned? Unless, it means _I'm_ the one in the most danger_. _Then I'll probably be kept under lock and key to be_ _kept safe._ Anyway he looked at it, his situation wasn't good. Ron and Hermione both walked beside him in silence, knowing he was deep in thought. Finally, Harry looked up and stopped. Ron and Hermione were a few paces ahead when he spoke and they realized that he had stopped. "I'm not going to mention the bird to anyone yet. I might I ask Dumbledore if he sent Fawkes to check up on me, but only if I see the bird again." Then he continued his silent stride.

It was almost dinnertime when they got back to the house. They put away the brooms and went back downstairs. Dinner passed that night much as it had the night before with only a few exceptions. Instead of speaking in hushed tones with Ginny, Hermione was looking at Ron with uneasy expressions as they both glanced at Harry from time to time.

Harry, for the most part, was silent. He knew that Ron and Hermione knew that he felt something was wrong. He didn't care. The three of them kept up a mild chirp, though none were actually attending to it. Harry's mind was busy trying to figure out who the shadowy figure was and whether or not what he had seen earlier was actually Fawkes. Dumbledore knew something that everyone else didn't, and Harry was determined to find out what it was. He _had_ to find out.

"Harry?"

"Harry?"

"Harry!" Ron nudged Harry in the ribs with his elbow, finally jarring him back to his senses. Nearly everyone at the table was looking at him by now.

"Harry, are you okay, dear? You didn't look well."

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. I just got lost in my thoughts." They were still all looking at him and they wanted a further explanation. "Really, I'm okay." He tried to smile, and managed a weak one.

The rest of the meal seemed to end rather quickly and passed in an uneasy silence. When they all rose to go indoors Harry tried to move fast enough to escape from any questions, without seeming rude. He failed. Hermione and Ron both caught up with him.

"Harry, what was that about? You can't fool us. Was your scar hurting?"

"No, Hermione. I feel perfectly fine."

"What is wrong with you tonight?"

"Nothing, Ron." He marched up the stairs ahead before either of them could say anything else to him. While the both of them stood dumbstruck, Charlie, who had been quietly listening from a few steps behind them Apperated up to Ron's room to wait for Harry. Harry continued to race up the stairs. He reached the door and once inside he sighed with relief.

"Feeling better, Harry?"

Harry looked up and saw Charlie staring at him from across the room. "What—"

"Spill it, Harry. You know more than you're letting on. You don't think you actually fooled anyone. Right?"

Harry sat down and sat on the camping bed beside Charlie. "Its really nothing," he mumbled, looking at the floor. He could feel Charlie staring at him and so he added, "I saw something today after most of you left and I was still trying to figure out what it was I saw." After a few deep breaths Harry continued. "I saw a shadowy figure and what was quite possibly a Phoenix. It wasn't the first time I've seen the Phoenix this summer. It was the third. Dumbledore is probably just sending Fawkes to check-up on me. It was nothing."

"You don't mean that. If you did you wouldn't be so worried. And trust me, you're worried. Honestly, in your place I think I would be too. You don't think Dumbledore sent the bird, do you?"

"Not really."

"But you haven't told this to Ron and Hermione."

"No, I didn't want anyone worried."

"And adopting that glazed look during dinner _didn't_ worry them?"

"I guess it did. Why hasn't Ron come in?"

"I made the door lock behind you. I figured you weren't quite up to talking to him just now."

"Thanks, Charlie. You won't tell anyone yet? Ron and Hermione and I are going to speak to Dumbledore on the first day back at Hogwarts. He's calling us in. I'm planning on telling him then. I'm done, you can let Ron in now." Harry appreciated what Charlie did; sometimes, though he was embarrassed to admit it to himself, he needed an older brother type person to talk to instead of a best friend; it felt good and Harry had never had an older brother, only a malevolent cousin. Parents weren't the only family Harry lacked.

Charlie pointed to the door with his wand and Ron came bursting in. "What did you do that for? Harry, what's the matter?"

Harry pretended to yawn as he lay down. "Well, Hermione's been acting weird. I think you were right when you said she's been acting more like a girl, but its something else, too. She seems to be spending a lot of time with Ginny. But I guess its good for her. Goodnight."

"That's true, but it's not what I meant!" grumbled Ron.

Harry guessed that Charlie had something to do with the fact that Ron said nothing more and he suddenly felt sleepy.

* * *

In the morning, when Mrs. Weasley came in to wake Harry and Ron, they noticed that Charlie was gone. When Harry inquired about this Mrs. Weasley simply replied, "He flew off early this morning. Bill left just afterwards." Harry had the feeling she was hiding something. When she left, Harry and Ron began to get dressed.

"You know, Harry, I bet he left so he wouldn't be in trouble if I told that he locked me out or that I think he used a spell to put me to sleep last night. I wouldn't have ratted him out anyway. Are you gonna tell me what happened last night?"

Harry hesitated. "Not yet."

"Let's go downstairs and eat then. But it's hard to be your friend when you won't talk to me." Together they set off down the stairs. After that rocky start things went smoothly the rest of the summer at the Burrow. The days slipped by. They spent the remaining days flying, or playing games, or talking. One day the last week of the summer holidays, an owl arrived. That morning while Mrs. Weasley was giving Harry another stack of pancakes, she remembered the letter.

"Oh, a letter came this morning that I'm sure you'll all be quite interested in. Renata and her mother will be coming to visit the day before term starts. Then we can all go to the station together. Won't it be nice? Renata said she's bringing her broom she wants to fly with all of you. Here it is if any of you would like to read it." She handed the letter to Hermione, who after reading it passed it to the others.

After that the remaining days were uneventful until the day the Delanos actually arrived. Harry and Ron had just finished breakfast. So had Ginny and Hermione. Then, both Delanos, one after the other arrived in the fireplace. The professor had a suitcase with her and Renata had a purple trunk beside her, with a broom over her shoulder. She smiled broadly looking at all of them.

"Who's ready to fly?"

"Me," replied Harry.

"Me, too. Just let us go get our brooms," Ron added. Harry and Ron ran upstairs and knocked on the twins' door; before it was opened they heard a small explosion. "Fred, I need to borrow your broom."

"Use yours," came Fred's muffled voice.

"Renata is here and we're going flying. George, I need yours too, Ginny wants to fly."

Fred opened the door a crack and handed out both of the brooms. Ron left the twins' brooms leaning outside the door. Harry and Ron went to go get their own from Ron's room. When they had retrieved them they picked up the brooms leaning by the twins' door. "Come on, let's go."

Meanwhile Ginny and Renata had been putting away the large purple trunk and were waiting. After saying goodbye and promising to be home before dark Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Renata went out and up to the hill. Ron handed George's broom to Ginny and his old Shooting Star to Hermione. On the way, they passed Crookshanks chasing some of the garden gnomes. When they reached the hill Renata turned to Harry. "Let's see what you're made of." And she was off into the air, with Harry and Ron close behind. They all raced and chased flying and spiraling as Hermione and Ginny cheered from the ground. Then, Hermione and Ginny took to the air on the brooms that Ron had brought out to them.

After hours of whirling and flying they began to feel a bit worn out. But that faded when Fred and George came out and joined them everyone flew with renewed energy. Although, that may have partially been because now they were all taking turns and they got chances to rest. It was almost four by the time they decided to call it a day. Harry and Renata were the last to come down.

"I must say, I am impressed Harry." She told him as she wiped the sweat off her face with her sleeve and grinned.

"I'd have to say the same to you, Renata. Wicked broomstick, too. What model is it?"

"Its no _Firebolt_, but it isn't bad. Its a _Phoenix-Flyer 340_."

"Lets go in, the others are getting ahead of us."

"Okay. You all seem to be good enough flyers. I won't go after your positions. I'll try for Keeper, if I end up in Gryffindor; if it's any other house, well, those kids will just have to watch out for their positions. Come on." They ran a bit to catch up to the others. "Want to play Gobstones when we get inside?"

"What about the others?"

"Well it looks like Ginny is hanging out with the twins. And, from what I've overheard, Ron and Hermione will be playing Chess."

"Okay. It is good for Hermione to play Chess; it seems to be the only thing she loses at. I'll go tell Ron the plan." He jogged a bit more to gett to Ron. "Since you're playing Chess with Hermione, Renata and I are going to play a couple of rounds of Gobstones. Okay?"

"Sure, we'll all stay in my room until dinner." Just after Ron said that they reached the house. They all moved on upstairs. Ginny stayed with the twins, Hermione grabbed her set of Chessmen, and they all went to Ron's room at the very top of the stairs. Ron and Hermione set up the board near the window and the Gobstones game was set-up on the floor nearby. Gobstones was a lot like a Muggle marble game, but when you lose a point the balls squirt a nasty green liquid at you. The games lasted awhile. Long enough until dinner was ready anyway.

When Mrs. Weasley called them down Hermione and Ron had been through three matches and Harry and Renata had been through two. Dinner was great. They ate outside again since there were eleven people. Everyone seemed in good spirits. Professor Delano even performed a little charm to make the fireflies do some formation flying. After-which, Mrs. Weasley suggested that all the children go to bed since they would need to be up early the next day. Off they went. Percy, although he didn't have any school he insisted he had to go in early for work. The twins went to their room. Renata joined Hermione and Ginny. Ron and Harry went back to Ron's room. Professor Delano had been offered Percy's room, and Percy would bunk with the twins, but she declined and stayed with the girls.

Harry and Ron stayed up talking for a while. "I wonder what Dumbledore will say tomorrow."

"I'm not sure, he's probably just going to tell us to be careful this year."

"But he's calling in Renata, too. As far as I know she doesn't have any reputation for trouble."

"How far do you know, Harry? Did she say anything about herself?"

"Not really. She asked about Hogwarts mostly and wanted to know about the library and what the classes were like."

"Sounds like we've got another Hermione on our hands."

"I still wish I knew whatever Dumbledore knows. He's got something he's not telling us. He doesn't seem to have told anyone, and I want to know what it is."

"Doesn't he always? Maybe we'll find out tomorrow. Go to sleep."

* * *

Mrs. Weasley came in early the next morning to wake the boys, up. "You've got to get up now. There are bacon sandwiches downstairs. Come down soon, dears. Both of you have your trunks packed?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

"No, Mum."

"Ron, you know that when we leave for Hogwarts we are pressed for time! The train leaves at eleven! It doesn't wait for anyone! Get up and finish packing." The change was astonishing, despite the fact that Ron was taller than his mother, he cowered and seemed to shrink inside himself. Mrs. Weasley had the capabilities to seem as ferocious as a saber-tooth tiger.

As she left, Ron began to finish throwing things in his trunk. Harry got dressed and helped Ron finish packing the freshly cleaned socks and Hogwarts robes Mrs. Weasley had brought in the night before. As soon as he was packed Ron hurriedly got dressed. Then, with Harry following behind he rushed downstairs. They gulped down some sandwiches and juice. Then they were just ready to go upstairs and make sure they hadn't forgotten anything when Ginny, Renata, and Hermione came downstairs. Once again there was something different. Harry realized this time it wasn't just Hermione, it was all three of them. Hermione had her bushy, brown hair braided with a scarlet ribbon running through the center of it. Ginny and Renata looked different, too; Harry and Ron just couldn't figure out what it was. Harry took a wild guess and said in the general direction of the girls, but not to anyone of them in particular. "Is it just me, or do you look really nice?"

"Yeah, your hair looks great," Ron, said as he looked up.

The girls all gave slight smiles. "Thank you."

As Harry got up to leave and Ginny sat down–-in the seat he had just vacated and was still holding on to. A bit confused though he was, Harry followed Ron back upstairs. Neither of them noticed that Hermione sat in the chair that Ron left. The boys raced back up the stairs and passed Fred and George, who were on their way downstairs. When they reached the top and were at Ron's room facing the peeling sign on the door that said RONALD'S ROOM, Harry spoke. "There was something weird with them, today,"

"Yeah, I mean Hermione never does anything with her hair, at least, not really. And Ginny jumped into your chair almost before you were out of it."

"Renata seemed to know something that we didn't. That smile seemed like a smirk if you ask me." Together they carried down first Harry's trunk, with Hedwig's empty cage perched on top of it; then Ron's trunk with Pig in his cage on top. Hedwig had been sent out two days before with a note letting Sirius know that everything was fine. Mrs. Weasley had gone down to the Muggle post office in the village to use the phone and called three cabs to come get them. By the time she got back everyone was waiting downstairs with his or her trunks, and in some cases animals. Percy had said farewell earlier before he and Mr. Weasley had left for work. Mr. Weasley had said good-bye and wished them all a good term before leaving. The taxis arrived about 15 minutes after Mrs. Weasley got back. The nine of them got into the cabs and all except Mrs. Weasley had large trunks. In addition to this there were three owls and a cat.

The ride to Kings Cross was uneventful. The drivers did give them odd looks about the animals, though. When they entered the station at half past ten, they all got trolleys to put their trunks on and headed for the platform. Most people in the station didn't know that Platform Nine and Three-Quarters even existed. To get on it you walked straight into the wall dividing Platforms Nine and Ten. Ron went through first with Harry; the others followed in twos and threes. As Harry emerged on the opposite side of the wall he was facing the familiar scarlet steam engine bearing the name _The Hogwarts Express_. Harry, Hermione, the Delanos, and the Weasleys all loaded their trunks onto the train.

Renata hugged her mom and they both climbed on board the train. Mrs. Weasley gave Harry, Hermione, and her children all hugs and wished them a good term. "Be careful and stay out of trouble! I don't want any of you hurt this year."

"You can trust us."

"When have we ever failed you?" Fred and George had acquired their wicked grins, which they usually reserved for when planning mischief.

"No looking for trouble, no pranks, no nothing. The trains getting ready to leave, go on now."

They all turned to go. "I guess she means, no fun." They climbed on the train and stuck their arms out to wave farewell as the train moved away. Fred and George went off in search of their friend Lee Jordan. Ginny headed off to find Renata. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were left to find a compartment for themselves.


	7. Return to Hogwarts

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: **Return To Hogwarts

The three were almost at the end of the train by the time they came across an empty compartment. They filed in and Ron slid the door closed. Harry looked up and like him, the other two had a look on their faces that plainly stated, "we need to talk." Harry decided to start. "I know we need to talk." They all sat down looking at each other. Since no one knew where to begin there was silence for sometime. "Has anyone heard from Hagrid this summer? He usually writes me at least once but I never got a letter from him all summer."

"Do you think something went wrong with that special business Dumbledore sent him on at the end of last year?"

"I hope not. I read if you insult giants they can get pretty upset. Trying to get the giants and giantesses to stay on our side is a good idea, but..." she trailed off. Another silence followed but was broken by the slide of the compartment door.

Neville Longbottom came in with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. "Hullo," Neville sounded miserable.

"Hi, Neville," Hermione tried to sound cheerful. "Do you want to play Exploding Snap with us? We were just going to start a game."

"Why not?"

Seamus whispered to Harry, "His toad got worse and he died. I wish that toad was still around. I can't stand watching Neville mope like this." Hermione began to deal out the cards.

At around one o'clock the witch who handled the food cart knocked on the compartment door. "Anything off the cart dears?"

Harry got up and brought back Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Whips, Pumpkin Pasties, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Bubble-Gum and just about some of every other candy from the cart. He paid the woman 12 Silver Sickles and 3 Bronze Knuts. Then he brought the candy back and laid it on an empty seat. They sat eating for a while, stopping every so often to talk.

"Hermione, were you made a Prefect this year?"

"No, I was bothered that it wasn't in my letter."

"That's weird, I mean you practically get better grades than Percy did."

"I know..." Hermione looked like she might get upset.

Sensing the distress Harry searched for something, anything, to say. "Anybody want a Chocolate Frog?" Both Ron and Hermione accepted one each for the moment and Harry opened one, too. Then he looked at the card that came with it. Chocolate Frogs always came with a card of a famous witch or wizard.

Ron looked at the card that had come with his own frog, "Hey, I haven't seen this one yet."

As Harry stood up to look at Ron's card, the compartment door slid open and he was propelled backward by a rather heavily built boy his own age, known as Crabbe. Draco Malfoy had entered the compartment with his two large companions, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The two of them seemed to exist solely to do Malfoy's bidding. Harry looked at Malfoy eye to eye.

Malfoy began to speak in his usual drawl. "Well if it isn't Potty, the Weasel and their little Mudblood pet. This year will be a nightmare for you, I swear. I doubt that any of you will survive. If I were you, I wouldn't step off this train." Ron sprang up and Hermione was looking murder. Harry started forward again.

All three spoke at once. Well, it was more like a shout, "What did you say?" Hermione stalked over and punched Malfoy in the face, Ron and Harry would have told her how proud they were that she had punched him but they were more interested in getting Malfoy back themselves. Harry and Ron grabbed the front of Malfoy's robes and as Crabbe and Goyle tried to push them away a person was directly behind the three standing in the door, "I hope no one in here is fighting. You wouldn't want me to hand out any detentions before we even had class, would you?" Professor Delano smiled pleasantly. "Hermione, sit down; Harry, Ron, let go of that boy's robes. I want you three," she looked down at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. "To leave and go stay in another part of the train. _Now_." The last word seemed to cut the very air and the three left. The Professor came in followed by Renata and Ginny. They all sat down.

Hermione wasted no time in stating her argument. "Professor, we were just talking when Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle came in and—"

"Hermione, whatever they did was no excuse for fighting."

"Malfoy called her a Mudblood, he came in here insulting all of us and looking for a fight—" Ron said. "And how did you retaliate?"

"I punched Malfoy in the face," Hermione admitted. "He deserved it."

"Nonetheless you could have all gotten in serious trouble. Really, and grabbing the front of his robes...I'll go see what I can do about his face to prevent the black eye. I don't want any of you to give any trouble." The professor proceeded out the compartment door without a word.

Under his breath Harry muttered, "I could've knocked him out."

"What?" Renata tilted her head and looked at him.

"Nothing."

"Fine, have it your own way. Hermione it's getting late the train will probably be at Hogwarts soon, we should change into our robes, now." All three girls got up and left.

Shaking his head Ron turned to Harry, "I'll never understand them." They both put on their robes.

The train pulled into the Hogsmeade station about fifteen minutes later. It had turned cold and windy but as Harry wrapped his cloak tighter around him he was glad that it wasn't raining this year. Harry and Ron stepped off the train and onto the platform and they looked around for Hermione and Renata. They spotted them and then heard a booming voice from across the way. "Firs' Years! Firs' years follow me! Yeh alrigh' there Harry? Ron? Hermione?" Hagrid waved to them and then headed off down the path with the first years. Harry, Ron, and Hermione led Renata over to where the carriages stood that would take them to Hogwarts. As soon as they were inside the carriage it took off, despite the fact that there were no visible horses.

As Renata admired the view there was silence. They were almost at the school when the silence was suddenly broken by Hermione. "Don't forget we have to go to Dumbledore's office. The password is 'Chocolate Frog,' right?"

"Yeah, that's what we were told," Ron said.

"It wouldn't be that hard to figure out anyway. Dumbledore always uses candy as his password." As Harry said this, the carriage came to an abrupt halt outside of the castle. As the four of them disembarked from the carriage and mounted the steps, a silent form came up to them. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Don't forget your appointment." And she left.

The four of them continued up the steps and went inside. Once inside, Harry felt like he had come home again at last. He then led the others up the stairs and through the corridors that led to Professor Dumbledore's office. When he found the stone gargoyle he said to it, "Chocolate Frog," the stone came to life and stepped aside revealing a staircase. They all went in and the gargoyle sprang back into place. When they reached the top of the stairs Harry knocked on the door.

It was pulled open by Professor Dumbledore, smiling at them with his usual twinkling eyes behind their half moon spectacles that were perched upon his long crooked nose. "Come in. We have a few orders of business to take care of." They all took seats in front of his desk. Harry looked around and found Fawkes on his usual perch. "Renata, allow me to welcome you to Hogwarts, I hope you will enjoy your years here. Tonight after the first years are sorted into their houses, you will also be sorted. I want the three of you to help Renata find her way around the school and grounds. I'm sure you all remember how tough your first days here were.

"Now, for the three of you I have some excellent news. Due to special services to the school you are all Prefects this year. Miss Granger, you would have been made a Prefect due to your excellent marks as well but there are other reasons for the three of you to be here." He handed the three of them badges with the letter "P" on them.

"Now all of you have rather a reputation at this school. We appreciate all you've done for the school but in the future please tell us of these things rather than taking them on yourselves. Stay out of trouble or extreme actions will be taken. Stay out of the Forest and away from other restricted areas as well. All the same I would like to release some information to you that I'm sure you understand is confidential. You all know that Voldemort has returned and we must all be on our guards, that means no sneaking off to the forest, no being out of bounds, especially at night, and if you find something out come to me or one of the teachers. If any of you are needed we will let you know but for the time being the most you can do is inform us when there is trouble afoot. Voldemort has not announced to the general public that he has returned yet, but our intelligence has informed us that he is gathering strength."

"Yes, Professor," they all answered in unison.

"You may all go now." Ron, Hermione, and Renata got up and went to the door but Harry remained seated.

"Professor, can I stay a minute? I've got a couple questions."

"Certainly, Harry."

The others left.

"I saw something several times this summer that I could have sworn was a Phoenix. Did you send Fawkes after me?"

Dumbledore looked grave and some of the twinkle had vanished from his bright eyes. "No, Harry, I didn't. Fawkes has been with me all summer."

Harry began to feel a bit unsettled. "Why does Voldemort want to kill me? What is he after? Why? I know you know, so just tell me."

"I'm sorry, Harry, I don't deem it wise to tell you just now but I can assure you that one day you will know and that I will do everything in my power to keep him from regaining his power over other wizards. He can be defeated. We really should be getting down to the feast now. As it is we've missed the sorting. Come along, now." Dumbledore got up and went to the door. Harry followed him out. They all went down to the Great Hall.

Professor Dumbledore took the center seat of the staff table. Renata stood next to Professor McGonagall as Dumbledore had instructed her to. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took seats at the Gryffindor table which already had new students seated around it. Professor McGonagall called the last name on the list and "Winter, Darren" became a Ravenclaw. He got off the three-legged stool and went over to sit at the Ravenclaw table.

Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. "We have a new pupil joining our 5th year students. Renata Delano has just transferred from The Angels Magical Academy of California." Renata sat on the three-legged stool the first years had sat on and put the sorting hat on. It then shouted "Gryffindor!" Renata then put the Hat back on the stool and walked over to the applauding Gryffindor table and sat next to Hermione.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "Before we can begin our feast I have a few announcements to make. We have a new faculty member in our staff this year. Please welcome Professor Delano as your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I would like to remind you all that the Forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden due to various dangers. I would also like to inform you that the curfew to be within the castle and in your room or house common room; will be enforced. Also, use of magic in the corridor between classes is not allowed. Now sit back and enjoy the feast!" Suddenly the plates and platters empty only seconds before were filled with delicious foods of all kinds. As Dumbledore took one last look at the students before sitting down, he was wearing a smile on his face so wide his face was almost unable to hold it.

Everyone began to talk at once. Renata was almost immediately bombarded with questions from Lavender Brown and Parvati Patel such as, "What's like in the States?" and "Isn't it so nice here?"

Ron began to speak to Harry in an undertone. "So, what's the news? Did he—"

"Hey!" Fred poked George and pointed to the badge Ron was wearing. "Another Prefect in the family. I thought Percy was the last."

George shook his head solemnly and looked at Ron. "I thought we taught you better." He then went back to his conversation with Lee Jordan about why tarantulas should have ten legs and discussing different methods for proving his hypothesis true.

Harry turned to Ron, who couldn't stand spiders. "Er—what did Dumbledore say?" repeated Ron.

Harry answered him in the same quiet tone. "He didn't send Fawkes after me this summer. And he won't tell me about why I'm wanted dead."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Cheer up, I bet we can find something at the library."

Across from Harry Seamus Finnigan was muttering to Dean Thomas. "I still can't believe the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is a girl;, she won't last."

"Lets hope she lasts longer than our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Probably won't last any longer than they did, though. I can't believe it, a witch! A month and I but she'll leave."

Hearing this Renata looked up, she was not happy. Harry and Ron watched, amused. She whispered to Hermione, "What're their names?"

"Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan."

"Look you two," she stared at them and spoke in the same no-nonsense voice her mother had used when talking to Harry, Ron, and Hermione after the meeting. There almost seemed to be fire in her eyes. "Don't say _anything. _Just trust me. I wouldn't do anything against the rules but you would definitely regret it if you crossed me, you stupid, narrow-minded boys. You don't want to mess with me, by the way, insulting my mom like that is one of the worst ways to get me mad so _don't_ do it." The look in her eyes remained a dangerous one.

After a few minutes the two boys hesitantly began to speak again, talking about Quidditch. The night continued to pass. The enchanted ceiling that mirrored the sky was a deep black dotted with bright stars. When everyone had eaten as much as they could the remaining food vanished, leaving the plates as sparkling as before. The serving platters now contained desserts: ice creams in every flavor, candies, cakes, pies, and treacle fudge.

When they had all finished their desert. Dumbledore stood up for his final announcement for the night. "Before we all trot off to bed, I have one more announcement to make. Our regular Quidditch season will resume this year. If you are interested in playing for your house team please contact Madam Hooch. Now off to bed with you all." Everyone got up and headed to their houses. The Gryffindors all went up the marble staircase and tread the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower. The continued up flights of stairs, down corridors, behind and hidden doors. To everyone's surprise that knew him well, Neville remembered to jump the trick step he always got stuck in. Harry was so surprised that he nearly forgot to skip it himself.

Eventually the crowd of students came to the painting of the Fat Lady in the pink dress. "Password?" She inquired.

A Gryffindor Prefect, one who had been notified a head of time and received the password spoke, "Magister!" The word was spoken in a clear and carrying voice so that all the Gryffindors would hear it. The portrait swung open silently and everyone filed in through the circular passage. As Harry step in he was greeted by the comfort of seeing the Gryffindor Common Room just as he always remembered it: large overstuffed chairs, tables on which to do homework, the fireplace and two sets of stairs.

Harry and Ron said goodnight to Hermione as she led Renata up the stairs to the girls' rooms. Harry and Ron climbed the winding stairs until they reached the door that now read FIFTH YEARS. The circular room had the same familiar four-poster beds, five of them. Near each bed was a small bedside locker and at the end of each bed were the boys' trunks, which had been brought up while they students had been at the feast. Behind Harry and Ron came Neville, Seamus, and Dean.

As they climbed into their pajamas, Seamus looked over and spoke to Harry, "That new girl has a bad temper. I don't like it."

"She's mean," agreed Seamus.

"Just don't make her mad then. She isn't really that bad," Harry pulled the crimson hangings closed and drifted into sleep.

In the morning Harry woke up and put on his Hogwarts robes. When Ron was ready they got their books and went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Plunging into his oatmeal Ron asked between mouthfuls, "I wonder what we have today?" George, sitting across from him passed him his schedule and Harry's. Ron looked down at it in disgust, "We've got Snape first!"

"Then Delano and then Hagrid." Hedwig flew in the large windows with hundreds of other owls dropping letters. To Harry's mild surprise she had a letter for him. He opened it and let Ron read it over his shoulder once he saw whom it was from.

_Dear Harry,_

_ Just wanted to wish you some luck on your first day back at school. Have a good term. I'll see you when I can. Stay OUT of trouble. I mean it. Have a good term.___

**_Sirius_****__**

"He really thinks I can't take care of myself. They all do."

"Harry, that's not true and you know it," Hermione told him in a know-it-all voice as she sat down beside him. "Be nice when you write back later, he is just looking out for you."

"Who made you the boss? Harry doesn't need you telling him what to do," Ron told her in annoyed tone.

"I don't remember asking your opinion Ron."

Harry, who knew they were in all the same classes that day didn't want to have to deal with the two of them being in a fight and not talking to each other. "Er—look, we really should get to class. As it is, if Snape found out about what you did to Malfoy on the train Hermione, they'll both be worse than usual."

Professor Severus Snape was the potions master and head of the Slytherin House. He generally favored students of his own house, Slytherin, and he seemed especially hateful toward Gryffindors and he loathed Harry most of all. It didn't help that Harry's class had double-potions with the Slytherins. The three of them stood up and Hermione brought Renata along behind her.

When they reached the dungeon classroom it was chilly. Most of the Slytherins were already waiting. When Snape got there and let the class in, Harry and Ron sat at the table at the back of the room, with Hermione and Renata at the next table. To Harry's great irritation Malfoy sat directly in front of him with Crabbe on one side and Goyle on the other.

Snape spoke in barely over a whisper but he had no problems keeping control of the class. "I'm sure you have forgotten what little you managed learn last year, the summer vacation has undoubtedly wiped it all from your minds. No matter, it only means that this year will be harder for you dunderheads than it needs to. Take out your books and turn to page 387. Now! Read it all and take out the supplies you need to begin your potion. A simple one for keeping pests at least three feet away at all times. I'd be surprised if you all don't end up three feet from each other until the potion wears off. What are you waiting for? Start!"

Harry skimmed the page and took out his kit of basic potions ingredients. He removed caterpillar legs, the wings of lacewing flies, and other numerous things from the pack before returning it to the bag with his books in it. After grounding and slicing the necessary ingredients Harry let the potion simmer. Ron, as well as almost everyone else, was doing the same thing. Malfoy began to talk loudly to Crabbe and Goyle and as he got up to wash off his knife, and his mallet he began, "That new teacher looks utterly hopeless. I seriously doubt that she'll live through the month. Anyone want to start placing bets?"

As Malfoy passed his way Harry couldn't resist answering back in a quiet voice. "Yeah I was going to say the same thing about your Quidditch career. Your father can't by your way through life forever."

"Potter! Five points from Gryffindor for talking out of turn," Snape spoke the words with obvious delight.

Renata sitting nearby was very offended. She tripped Malfoy on his way back and turned to Hermione to say, "But that isn't right he just—Ow!"

Hermione had stepped on her foot, "We don't want to lose anymore points."

"For homework I would like everyone to write an essay, two rolls of parchment long, about why bats' ears are a significant part of the ingredients used in this potion. This is to be handed in by Monday."

It came time for everyone to test his or her potions. Amazingly enough there was nothing wrong with Neville's potion; Potions was his worst class and he always went to pieces in it. In addition, there were no insects of any sort bugging them all for two hours.

As they left class, Renata blurted out, "He is brutal, he had no excuse for picking on Harry and not punishing that other boy—uh, Malfoy. But what are the points he was taking about?"

"House points are awarded and removed throughout the year and at the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Gryffindor has won the last four years."

After the morning break, the Gryffindor fifth years went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, all wondering what it would be like. They all took seats and waited. In a few minutes Professor Delano arrived and stood behind her desk. "I would like to introduce myself as Professor Delano. I have been reviewing your work in this class since your first year and I am not impressed." Murmurs of protest began to break out over this. The Professor held up her hand for silence. "I have heard all about the difficult circumstances every year for your class, but this year you will be taking your O.W.L.s and you need to be prepared. I will be working with you in units. The first shall be curses since that seems to be where you left off; next will be evil places; and we will finish off with magical creatures since you seemed to have a good back round in those. Any questions? Please give your name before you ask."

"I'm Dean Thomas. Are you actually gonna teach here all year?"

"Yes, Dean, unlike all of the previous teachers who have filled this position of late I will finish the year and quite probably do the same for the next two years, at least."

"I am Seamus Finnagin. I heard that the job—"

"No, Seamus, this position is not jinxed or cursed, as some of you would believe. Anyone else?"

Lavender Brown raised her hand, "I'm Lavender, and I was wondering: Now that you are here what do you think of Hogwarts?"

"Actually none of this is new to me. Although I grew up in California, I attended Hogwarts and stayed in England for a year afterwards. In fact, I was in the same year as one of your past teachers. Professor Lupin. I didn't move back to the United States until after my graduation. If there are no more questions related to the curriculum we shall get a start on it." Professor Delano picked up her wand and after saying a few well-chosen words there was a list of notes on the blackboard behind her. "Everyone please copy this and any other information I add down onto your papers please."

She began a long discussion on curses and the elements in a spell that cause the curse. Then she went over a few examples of simple curses and methods of dodging them and blocking them. "Next time we have class we shall get deeper into the actual curses and counter-curses. Last year you studied the unforgivable curses. Please write me a summary on them and have it in by Monday. There is still class time left so why don't all of you begin your assignment now?"

When the class was over the students gathered their books into their bags and hustled out to the Great Hall for lunch. Ron turned to Harry; "I wonder what Hagrid is going to do for our class today?"

"Could be anything from flobberworms to hippogriffs."

"Is Buckbeak still with Sirius?"

"Yeah," Harry answered as he sat down. "What did you think of Delano's class?"

"It wasn't' bad. I still think we shouldn't have to take that class."

"You probably are right." He ate his lunch "We'd better go down to Hagrid's hut now lunch is just about over." Together they made there way out of the castle and across the grounds to Hagrid's hut. As Harry approached the hut he heard Malfoy complaining loudly in his lazy drawl.

"I honestly can't believe that oaf is still teaching here. He should have been fired ages ago, he shouldn't even have attended Hogwarts in the first place. Honestly, I can't believe this school can get any lower. It's repulsive, allowing people like him."

"Keep talking Malfoy and I'll pound you."

"Really, Weasley? You could take Hagrid's place if he was gone, then maybe your parents could both afford to eat."

Ron dove at Malfoy and just before his hit fell he was pulled back by a powerful arm.

"Break it up you two! Stop it or yeh both 're gettin' detention!" After pulling Ron far enough away so that he wouldn't go after Malfoy again, he continued to steer Ron away and beckoned Harry and Hermione to follow. Renata came, too. "Now will yeh tell me what all that was abou'? I thought yeh had better sense Ron. I know Malfoy's got no more sense than a flobberworm, but I thought _yeh _had some."

"Malfoy was insulting my family! And you."

"I know, I know, but it doesn't mean yeh wouldn't get in trouble if yeh got caught fightin'. It looks like he had a black eye already but that was almost gone."

"I punched him on the train yesterday, and Professor Delano helped fix his eye so it wouldn't look so bad and we wouldn't be in trouble for fighting," Hermione said.

"Well, I thought yeh all knew better. Now who's this? Oh you're Jennifer's girl. Renata, is it?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Nah, jus' call me Hagrid. Everybody does. Now all of yeh can join the class." Hagrid went to get something waiting at the edge of the forest. He came back with a baby dragon. "We're gonna start class this year with a dragon. For the next week yer all gonna get to help take care of Mulberry here. She's a Romanian Longhorn. Then she'll be shipped off to be released into the wild." Hagrid was positively beaming; the class was looking very uncertain, some seemed downright terrified. "I'm gonna put yeh all in groups of four of five for turns at taken care of the dragon. He started listing groups. Finally there were only eight people left without groups. "Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy you're all together. And Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata together. Alright now, here're the lists of when ter come down." He passed a copy out to each of the students. "When yeh come down yeh gotta feed her and then make sure she is locked up for the night."

"Do we have to come to this hovel? It's bad enough that we have to come for our lessons," Malfoy asked with a sneer.

"Yeh do if yeh wanna pass this class. Go on now."

Harry pushed his way over to Hagrid. "Are you sure you're allowed to have that dragon, Hagrid?" Harry remembered all too well what it was like when Hagrid had won a dragon egg in a game of cards four years before and how difficult it had been to help hide it and take care of it. He also remembered how much trouble they had wound up in when they were finally able to get rid of the dragon. Norbert had been an awful mess to take care of. Harry desperately hoped that this was different.

"I cleared it with Dumbledore meself. I got to take care of 'er the last week. So sweet isn' she? An' now I get to use her for my class. She's beautiful!" His beetle black eyes were wet with tears of joy.

"Hagrid, don't get too attached you know you can't keep her," Hermione used as firm a voice as she could muster.

"I know, I know, but at least she gets to stay another week."

"Hagrid, we've got a couple questions to ask you." Harry still wanted to know about the summer.

"Could you ask when you come back tonight? I wanna finish Mulberry's playpen."

"Sure we've got research to do now anyway and the teachers gave us lots of homework. We'll see you later." The four them walked back to the castle. The sky had been growing cloudy and it was beginning to rain. They went back to the Tower to begin to work. Then they went down to eat in the Great Hall.

They ate finished their chicken and mashed potatoes they were about to go back up to Gryffindor Tower when Hagrid found them.

"Aren' yeh coming to help with Mulberry? It is your night."

They had completely forgotten. "Er—yeah we're coming Hagrid." They followed him outside. They walked with him to his house. "Hagrid we had a couple of questions. Did you go talk to the giants this summer? I got worried when I didn't hear from you this summer."

"I did, but I can't tell yeh the results. Not that I even know them meself, yet. But yeh shouldn't be worrin' yerselves about that just now." They reached his house and went inside. The familiar bed with its huge quilt sat in one corner. Pheasants hung from the ceiling, there was the fireplace with roaring fire and the large table with its matching chairs. As soon as Harry had entered, Fang, Hagrid's Boarhound had begun jumping up and down and licking him. In the corner Mulberry sat; steam was coming from her nostrils. Hermione went for the chicken blood and some brandy for her while Harry and Ron managed get the dragon into the "playpen" Hagrid had made for her earlier.

There was nothing really for Renata to do except watch. Then Hagrid asked them to come in for tea on Friday afternoon. After saying thanks and that they would, they left. "Why do I have the feeling you three had done that before?"

"We may have, but it's still hard. Have you ever gotten bitten by a dra—"

Harry and Hermione gave Ron severe looks.

Renata laughed. "Yeah, I know you are all troublemakers. Hiding a dragon sounds like something you'd do."

"It wasn't us!"

"It was Hagrid."

"Honestly we were lucky that we got Hagrid to get rid of Norbert at all. Norbert bit Ron and Hermione and I got detention for being out of Gryffindor Tower so late at night. At least Filch—he's the caretaker—didn't know why were out of bed. Trouble for being out of bed in the middle of the night wasn't half as bad as if they'd known we were delivering a dragon to someone."

The four of them made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. Then, after collecting their books from their rooms they began their homework in the common room. When it was late and Harry didn't feel like working anymore he went upstairs to go to bed. But there was something sitting on it already. A low voice hissed, "Ssstop, Harry Potter."


	8. Voices in the Night

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER EIGHT: **Voices in the Night

"What did you sssay?" Harry was hissing, too. He was talking to the snake, speaking Parseltoungue.

"I have a messssage. Your doom is drawing ever nearer." The serpent started to slither off the bed.

"Wait! Who sssent you?" 

"I will not sssay."

"Well, tell them thisss: they're wrong and I'm not ssscared of a ssstupid messsage."

"I will tell." The snake slithered off the bed and across the floor, and it then managed to squirm up the little table by the window and then out the window down the long wall, into the night. A few minutes later Ron came up.

He saw Harry's face. "What's the matter? What happened? Your face is all weird."

"When I came up there was a snake on the bed and it spoke to me." Harry told Ron of his conversation with the snake.

"I'm telling you, Harry, things are not looking very good for your future."

"Yeah, and lucky me I get to hear more about it in Divination on Monday. Trelawny's death predictions for me get awful annoying."

"Oh, that'll be fun. Are you going to mention this to Dumbledore?"

"I'm not sure. It was just one snake…"

"A snake who said someone wanted to kill you."

"Ron, we know someone's wanted me dead since before I can remember. I don't think I'll say anything yet. Besides the snake said 'doom' not 'death.' "

Ron shook his head, showing that he plainly thought Harry was crazy.

"Well, you can't say our first day back wasn't interesting." Harry closed his crimson hangings as Ron went over to his own bed to go to sleep. Soon sleep was upon him as well.

The next morning, as it was Saturday, Harry had intended to sleep in. Unfortunately he was woken early by Neville's whimpering. Groggily Harry sat up and reached for his glasses. "Wha'sa matter?" He pulled the hangings around his bed open. He saw the other boys poking their heads out curiously as well; that is except Neville who was standing by the door pointing at something near Harry's bed. It was a snake.

The snake somehow managed to slither up to Harry's bed. It began to speak and only Harry knew what was being said. "Harry Potter. Lisssten well," it said.

"What isss it?"

"Another messssage for you. Your fate hasss been sssealed. You can not essscape it," hissed the snake.

"Who has sent you?"

"I ssshall not tell."

"Fine, I have a message for whoever sssent you: they are wrong the only thing certain about my fate isss that no one decidesss it for me, but myssself."

"I ssshall deliver it," replied the snake.

With that the snake slithered out of the circular dorm and most likely down the stairs.

The other four boys were staring at Harry waiting for an explanation. Harry rolled over and pretended to go back to sleep. Eventually three of the boys got dressed and left, muttering. Ron however refused to budge. When they were gone he drew back Harry's curtains, and pulled back the covers and demand with his arms folded, "Harry what was all of that about?"

"The same thing as last night."

"Harry two nights in a row? This is not good. Most people forgot that you even speak Parseltoungue, Harry. This is not looking good." He shook his head.

"A night and a morning. Its not that big a deal, Ron."

"You, and You-Know-Who, are just about the only ones who can speak it. Snakes are considered a sign of evil, this won't keep quiet."

Harry ignored Ron's continuing remarks as he got dressed and went to the common room, Ron, dressed now too, was right at his heels.

"I was wondering where you two were," Hermione said as they came down. "The other boys from your dormitory looked upset…and confused."

"Another snake. Neville got up and saw it and woke up everyone in the room," Harry told them of the conversation.

"What do you mean by 'another snake,' has this happened before?"

"Last night one came."

"And you haven't told Dumbledore yet? You really should, or at least tell Sirius."

"No, I don't think so."

"Harry, if you don't I will. You know I will. Otherwise one of the boys will say something."

"I'm going to breakfast."

"Harry, come back here this is serious! If you're getting messages like that they ought to be stopped."

"Don't you see I have to respond? We know it has to be Voldemort sending them. He's basically the only other person around who can talk to snakes." The other two flinched as he said the name. Harry used this time to get up and walk quickly out.

"Harry," Ron ran and caught up to him, "What kind of snakes were these? The next one might be more than a messenger. Snakes are dangerous. You could get bitten and poisoned."

Harry sat down at the table and ignored everything Ron and Hermione kept furiously whispering to him. When he was done he went outside; Hermione and Ron were right behind him. He went over to the lake to see if there was any sign of the Giant Squid. There wasn't. Knowing that he couldn't keep running from them Harry turned around to face Ron and Hermione, they were still right behind him.

"Harry—"

"Fine! I'll write to Sirius," Harry said this, hating each word he spoke.

"Perfect, we've brought parchment, ink and a quill." Hermione handed them over after extracting them from a pocket of her robes.

"What made you bring these out?" asked Harry, unscrewing the bottle of ink.

"I grabbed them off the table when we followed you. Now, write."

Harry's quill was poised just an inch above the parchment and he stopped. "How did you know you'd catch up with me?"

"We didn't. We just figured that if you ran off into the forest or something we'd write the letter ourselves," Ron told him. "Write."

Harry sat down by a tree. He began, at last, to write:

_Sirius, twice snakes came to me in my dorm then delivered a message. The first message was that my doom is getting closer. The second was that my fate is sealed, and I can't escape it. Just thought you should know. And I _am_ staying out of trouble._

_Harry_

"Isn't that grammatically incorrect? Shouldn't it be 'messages'?"

"Hermione, blame the snake, not me. Come on, let's get Hedwig from the Owlery." Together, the three went back into the castle and climb seemingly endless stairs until they reached the Owlery. Harry found Hedwig and tied the letter to her leg. "Could you give this to Sirius for me?" Hedwig flew out the window. "Happy now?"

"Yep. Let's go see Hagrid, he said he'd like it if we stopped by for tea this week." So they went. The study occupied by the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor wasn't too far from the Owlery and as the three passes it, Renata came out.

"Hey! What's up you guys?"

"We were going down to have tea with Hagrid. Would you like to come?" Hermione asked brightly.

"Why not?" Together the four of them made their way back down to the grounds and to Hagrid's house. They knocked on the door. There was some loud barking.

"Back, Fang. Come on in!"

Pulling the door open Ron called, "Its us!"

They saw Hagrid trying to hold Fang, and still keep an eye on the dragon at the same time. "Would yeh like some tea, or san'wiches?" They all accepted the tea, but only Renata took the stoat sandwich that was offered to her; the others had already had far too much experience with Hagrid's cooking. She put it down after the first bite. "So how 'ave yer classes been? I know it's only been a day."

"Haven't been great, but it wasn't bad."

Hagrid peered closely at him. "Yeh sure yer okay, Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing real out of the ordinary."

"Harry…" Ron and Hermione looked at him hard.

"Right," muttered Harry. He stroked Fang, slobbering on his robes, before speaking again in a resigned manner. "I've been visited by snakes twice since coming back here this year and they've given me messages saying that I'm doomed. Personally, I'd just as soon forget the whole business but these two…" Harry shook his head. "I want to wait and see where things go Hagrid but Ron and Hermione are insisting that I get everyone all upset. Hagrid what do you think? Should I tell Dumbledore?"

"Harry, why wouldn't yeh say summat to 'im? Dumbledore would only be looking out for yeh. He's a great man, Dumbledore is."

"Thanks Hagrid. I'll go talk to Dumbledore tomorrow. Do you want any help with the dragon?"

"Sure. I was just gonna take her outside ter play but if yeh could do that for me it'd be a big help. Madam Hooch wanted me to check over the Quidditch field before tryouts on Monday an' I wanna spend as much of tomorrow is I can with Mulberry." Hagrid got up and went out the door. The others got up and followed him, the dragon following behind. Fang stayed inside, preferring to stay as far away from Mulberry as was possible.

When Hagrid was out of earshot. Ron began to talk, "You won't listen to us but you'll listen to Hagrid."

"At least he told you guys, I didn't even hear any of this," Renata said.

"Well I wanted a second opinion—er, third opinion. I haven't said anything to anybody but you three, Hagrid, and Sirius."

"Another thing, you're a _Parseltongue_?" Renata asked disbelievingly.

"Lots of people knew that, but most forgot. I think."

"Like how many?"

"Oh, everyone who attended Professor Lockhart's dueling lesson who thinks that I told a snake to attack a kid…and everyone who happened to read a certain issue of the Daily Prophet last year." Harry looked around for Mulberry. She was nowhere to be seen. "Wait! The dragon is missing!"

"What?" They all searched frantically until Hermione found a sign.

"Dragon tracks…Leading into the…the forest," she said faintly. Harry had been in the forest twice. Ron and Hermione had been inside, too. None of them wanted to go back.

"Well? Why are we waiting? We should go in after her before she gets too far," Renata said irritably taking a few steps.

"NO!!!"

Renata turned around. "Why not?" She asked as though walking into a forest full of dangerous creatures was perfectly reasonable.

"Huge six foot tall spiders!" Ron shuddered.

"Yeah, right. Like I'll believe that." She began to walk.

"We met them!"

"Wow. One reason. Obviously you went in and came out alive." She continued until she was out of sight because of a bend in the path. As nothing else could be done, they dove in after her. She was waiting around the first bend with her arms crossed in front of her. "I knew you would come."

They found Mulberry a short distance further along. But they found something else too. A small fire. At first they figured it had been started by the dragon. Then the students noticed the arrangement of the sticks. It was a campfire. Someone was in the forest. Prints of shoed feet led off the trail. Feeling that they shouldn't stay, they all turned around to go. Except Renata; she kept walking forward. In the end Harry and Ron each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her backwards out of the forest. Hermione put a leashing spell on Mulberry to lead her out of the forest as well.

When they came out they were silent for a time until Renata spoke, "Something was watching us. It was calling me. Couldn't you feel it?" She looked as though half in a daze.

"I didn't feel anything," Hermione said softly but clearly.

"Not me."

"Or me."

They waited until they saw Hagrid arrive. "Quidditch field is in top shape. How was Mulberry?"

"Fine. When does she have to go?" Harry asked.

"Tomorrow night someone is coming to pick her up. Less likely ter be seen flying by the Muggles. I'm gonna miss 'er!" He began to sob.

"Its okay, Hagrid. Want us to be down here?"

"You lot shouldn' be outta the castle at night. Liable to get hurt."

Hermione released the leashing spell and Hagrid scooped up Mulberry in his arms. They all said goodbye and the students headed back to the castle.

Renata seemed to have regained her usual high spirits. "So when do I get to find out how to get out of the castle? The three of you must have plenty of exists. And I want one the caretaker _doesn't_ know about."

"There're only two he doesn't know about and why should we tell you?"

"If you don't I'll find them myself or ask someone else, Fred and George must know some. 'Bye, to all three of you I'm gonna finish up my homework." They all said goodbye and the three of them went over and sat by the lake.

"Which exit should I use, the one to Honeydukes or the one to the Shrieking Shack?"

"I don't know. Wait. What do you mean 'which exit'?"

"I'm going to show her a way out of the castle." Ron looked at Harry as though he was crazy. Harry started again, "Look, you can tell she's going to keep hanging around us so she'll probably find them out anyway."

"Isn't that even more of a reason _not _to tell her?" asked Ron.

Harry didn't answer.

Hermione spoke, "In order for the Shrieking Shack one to be worth anything you would need to have one of its doors or windows opened so you can get out. But its safer than Honeydukes, there you have to make sure the owners don't find you."

"What about my invisibility cloak? We're the only students who know about it but we can't get rid of her anyway and I don't want to be caught. Should I use it?"

"That one is up to you. Out of everyone, who knows about it?"

"You, me, Hermione, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape, Lupin, and Sirius. I think that's it. Should I?"

"Better not risk getting in trouble."

"You're right. But I still don't know which to take her to."

"You could go early and open a back door or window so you could leave the Shrieking Shack when you get there."

"It makes the most sense. I've got a couple hours before dinner. I can go now."

"Don't you mean 'we?' I bet the cloak can still cover the three of us."

"Let's go in and find out." Together the three went back up to Gryffindor Tower. Up in the dorm Harry took out the Invisibility Cloak from the bottom of his trunk. He had inherited it from his father. Ron came up. The two of the draped the cloak over themselves and were suddenly unable to be seen at all anymore. There was still even extra room for another person, at least, a small one.

Harry grabbed his bag and put the cloak in. He then took something else from his trunk. It was a seemingly blank piece of parchment. Harry put that in his bag too. Harry and Ron left and went down the stairs. Hermione was waiting. Together they continued through the castle until they reached the out of order girls bathroom on one of the lower floors. The three of them slipped in quietly. Once there, Harry and Ron put the invisibility cloak around them. It would seem suspicious to have three students go out to the Whomping Willow. This way they could get out of the castle without attracting too much attention. The three of them left. When they got down to the door leading outside. They all walked as fast as possible to the far side of the grounds where the Whomping Willow tree was. As usual it was thrashing about angrily. Hermione, who had been under the cloak as well since they came outside, got out and found a branch nearby. She touched one of the tree's knots with the end of the branch; all the trees limbs froze as if they were marble, the three of them climbed in through a crack in the tree's base and the braches began to swing violently again.

The three crept along the tunnel just long enough to be able to stand. Then Harry took out his wand and muttered "Lumos!" Hermione and Ron followed suit and on the ends of all three wands were softly glowing lights. They continued down the passage. Eventually they came to steps rising gently. They came to a door and with a bit of force it opened. They were in the Shrieking Shack, supposedly the most haunted building in all Britain. Apparently no one had been in here since Lupin had come back the night after they met Sirius there in their third year. They looked around. Eventually they did find a back door. None of them had spoke, it was a strange feeling, being inside a deserted house. When they found the door they couldn't get it open by force. Finally Hermione used a charm, "Alohomora." It was no longer locked but it still didn't open. They gave up and sat down.

"I reckon there was another spell put on the door to keep people from coming in. Fred and George never made it through the front."

"Probably, le me try again," Hermione stood up and walked over to the door, and then she gave the door a hard and concentrated kick. It opened.

"How did you do that?"

"A couple summers ago I took self-defense lessons."

"Let's go outside, and take a look around." They all got up and went outside, it was starting to get a little dark. "What time is it?"

"Probably 7:30 almost."

"I think we should get back then."

"Its cold can't we go into the village and get a butterbeer?"

"All right." The three went down to the village. While Hermione got drinks Harry and Ron chose a table. "Harry, I forgot to show you this really rare card I got from the Chocolate Frog on the train—"

At that moment Hermione came to the table. "We better finish these fast, it's getting late and we have to be to the castle before curfew."

"We've got the cloak will be fine." They finished and got up to leave. They left the town and went up the hill to the Shrieking Shack and went in. "Come on. Let's get back." They shut the door behind them and continued through the tunnel until they reached the exit. Curiously enough the branches weren't moving, they took advantage of that and climbed out quickly and backed away. Crookshanks had been waiting there and he managed to dart through the limbs to press the knot for them. They slipped the cloak about the three of them and began to walk back to the school. Just as they were approaching the great doors one swung open and someone stepped out.

Ron whispered, "She's on my Frog card."

"That's my neighbor."

Hermione stomped on both of their feet and they stifled moans. "Shut-up you two."

The figure that had come from the castle turned to where they were and spoke in their direction even though she could not see them. "I know that you are here, whoever you are that is. I can wait." She sat down on the grass. She pulled her knees close and wrapped her arms around them. And wait she did.

It was almost twenty minutes later before anyone moved. Renata came out of the castle, her spirits bright as usual. "Bella? Bella? Bella! What are you doing here? My mom didn't tell me you were coming! You haven't been to see us in ages."

The woman stood to give Renata a hug, "I had a meeting today. Your mom didn't know ahead of time."

"Why were you sitting out here?"

"I know there are other people out here but I can't see them."

"Bella, that's just lurking instincts from your old job. Are you coming in?"

"No, I really must be going; I'm on my way out. Suppose a Muggle stopped by the house and wondered how it was that they never saw me leave but I'm not there now. Goodbye, I'll see you soon Renata." With that she strode off into the distance. Renata watched with admiration. She then turned to go back to the castle. Still under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed. Renata turned. "I can hear your footsteps, who's there?" Harry and the two hiding with him just went up the stairs as fast as they could; which wasn't very fast because they all had to move together. Quietly, Renata followed sound and came up behind them; she yanked the cloak off before they could do anything. "I knew it!"

"Renata be quiet or someone will hear you!" whispered Harry.

"Let's go to the tower. Renata, we'll explain up there. We'll be right behind you just keep the portrait open long enough for us to come through."

"Okay but when we get there the three of you are going to tell me what you were up to." The four of the made it back to the tower and into the common room. It was nearly deserted; the only people in there were the Creevy brothers who, went up to bed just after they came in. At last Harry pulled the cloak off. "We went down to Hogsmeadee. Then we came back up here and we saw Mrs. Figg. She could tell we were there so we waited until she was gone and then in the castle you found us."

"Interesting," Renata commented thoughtfully.

Hermione looked over to Harry and said, "What did you mean earlier when you sad that woman was your neighbor?"

"I meant what I said. I used to have to stay with her when the Dursleys had to go anywhere, they didn't trust me without a babysitter; they figured I might burn down the house or blowup something. She never said she was a witch."

"A babysitter, Harry?" grinned Renata.

"When I was younger," he muttered. He didn't mention that younger wasn't all that many years ago. "Ron, let me see that Chocolate Frog card."

Ron took it out of his pocket and handed it over. Harry read, " 'Arabella Figg is one of the best known witches of our time. A number of years ago she served as an Auror. She specializes in protection spells and is currently holding the task of guarding the _Book of Ever_. Her hobbies include raising Kneazles and half-Kneazles and reading Muggle newspapers from different parts of the world. Arabella resides now in a Muggle community in England. Her exact location cannot be revealed as a caution to herself and what she guards.' That's all there is. I didn't know any of this."

"Bella? She's been my mom's friend for years. When my mom wouldn't talk to anyone she talked to her. Bella really helped after my dad's death. She's a widow too and knows how hard it is. I had no idea she was still in England."

"Do any of you know what the _Book of Ever_ is? I've never heard of it," Harry asked frowning

"Hermione, was it in _Hogwarts, A History_?"

"Aren't you two ever going to read it?"

"Not when we can just ask you."

"No it was not in _Hogwarts, A History_. Or any of the other books I've read."

"First thing tomorrow I'm going to the library," Harry sighed. "Or should I just go now?"

"How can you go now?" Renata inquired curiously.

"By not being seen. But we don't know that we'll have to be that extreme, it might be with the rest of the books in the library. Somewhere." The library at Hogwarts was very extensive. To find something you had to know what you were looking for so you knew where to look.

"Harry, first thing in the morning you're talking to Dumbledore about those snakes."

"He doesn't need to know. I told Sirius, isn't that enough?"

"No. Sirius will say something to him anyway."

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? The three of you have a meeting with him tomorrow, 11 o'clock. My mom told me to pass on the message. Well, good night." Renata went upstairs without another word.

"I guess I have no choice about talking to him." Harry stormed off to bed. Sleep came uneasily that night. Visions of who probably sent the snakes kept appearing in his mind's eye. The man had red eyes, a cold, high voice …

The next morning Harry woke up earlier than he normally would have on a Sunday. He got dressed and began to head down to the library before anyone knew he was awake. He had his invisibility cloak in case it was needed. As Harry turned the final corner to go, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Potter what are you doing here?" It was the hook-nosed, greasy haired potions master, Professor Severus Snape.

"I—er—I just wanted to get some extra work done in the library before it got too crowded this morning."

"In that case," Snape said, "if you're so interested in extra work you can write me an essay on bezoars. Three rolls of parchment. Have it by tomorrow, Potter." Snape smiled maliciously and left.

Harry went on his way to the library seriously hoping Snape would trip and break both legs. He reached the library. Just as Madam Pince, the librarian arrived. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I have lots of homework." Now it was true. Harry followed Madam Pince into the library and instead of looking for books about the _Book of Ever,_ he was forced to look up bezoars. All he could remember were that they came from the stomach of goats. He got to work and was on his second roll of parchment when Hermione and Ron found him.

"What are you working on?"

"Snape found me coming when I was coming up here and I said I was coming to do extra homework so he gave me an extra assignment: three rolls of parchment about bezoars. I'm almost done. But now I don't have any time to look up that book before we talk to Dumbledore." Harry wrote for a few more minutes and then shut the huge leather bound tome and hefted it back on the shelf. "Let's go."

"We've got plenty of time left."

They left the library, Harry in the lead. He set off in the direction of Dumbledore's study they was nearly there when Professor Delano found them.

"I think the three of you should come with me."

They reached Dumbledore's office and said the password. They went up the stairs and knocked.

"Come in," a voice answered. "I'm glad you're all here. I have a few questions to ask and I'm sure a few to answer."

"Professor, yesterday I saw—"

"Yes, Harry. You did see the witch who lives on your street."

"Why didn't I know?"

"Because, Harry, it was necessary for her whereabouts to be hidden from other wizards and for her identity to remain hidden from you. But we require your help. Not directly, we don't want you in danger. We don't want any of you in danger. We are looking for ideas. Breaking into heavily guarded places seem to be a specialty for the three of you so we need to know things that would stop anyone as talented as yourselves when it comes to such things. Any suggestions?" His eyes twinkled behind their half moon spectacles.

"Professor, what is the _Book of Ever_?"

"I can't tell you exactly what the _Book_ is Harry. Only three or four living wizards know. Those who know cannot divulge the information, and those that don't can't find out. But I can tell you some. Long ago a pact was made and an oath was sworn and we were all bound to stand by it, not to know the things in the _Book_. No one would know and everything would be all right. Then, one wizard sought the _Book_ from its keeping. It had been locked away at Gringotts; in a vault similar to the one used to keep the Sorcerer's Stone. When its safety was jeopardized, responsible witches and wizards removed it, but on the way to its new hiding place it was intercepted. And read from. Those wizards and the wizard who had gone looking for the _Book_ were the only ones who knew. It was then hidden away, and now it may be being searched for once more. That is why you are here," Dumbledore's face was grave.

"So that _Book_, is in trouble and you want us to help figure out a better way to guard it?" Hermione asked tentively.

"Yes. We need something that no one can get through to get at the _Book_. The three of you have gotten past what we thought was impossible. What can't you get past?"

"Maybe not dragons again," Harry remembered every encounter he ever had with a dragon, none of them were pleasant.

"Most wizards have trouble with logic," said Hermione, she was always the reasonable one who _could _figure out things logically.

"The spiders from the forest."

"Boggarts might work," Harry shuddered remembering the vision of the Dementor who appeared whenever he faced a boggart. He pictured the cold, dead, clammy hand of a Dementor. Boggarts themselves weren't bad _if_ you knew that's what they were.

There was a knock and as Renata entered the room her mom asked. "What about any spells we could use?"

"I wasn't fond of that one in the maze last year that turned everything upside down," replied Harry.

"Is there away to set a spell to go off when someone enters a place? A pre-arranged Petrifying Spell would work if it was someone who couldn't die," Ron said this and Harry knew he had the same idea as he did about who the wizard who broke the oath was; Hermione, too.

"Don't do anything with snakes."

"Yeah, Voldemort can understand them," it was a bit bold of Harry to mention Voldemort as the wizard searching for the _Book_ since the others had purposely not done so.

"Of course," Dumbledore said briskly. "You should all be off now you've been most helpful. Harry, stay a moment." Everyone dispersed Ron last of all and he whispered to Harry, "Snakes!" Then only Harry and Dumbledore remained.

"I knew you knew who I was discussing, Harry, but saying who it was frightened someone."

"But, Professor, Ron and Hermione knew too."

"Not them, Harry. Young Miss Delano. Her face paled. Didn't you notice she started to sweat and shiver? You didn't notice? Harry, Renata has been pretending to herself for fourteen years that it wasn't _him_. Did the Delanos tell you how her father died? Renata and her parents lived in England for a time. He was killed while they were still in England; about 14 years ago."

Realization dawned on Harry's face. "I didn't know, sir," he muttered, embarrassed.

"Please, don't mention it to her. Renata values her honor and would be extremely upset if anyone knew, or saw her shed tears for her loss. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me, Harry?"

"Wait, there was something I have to tell you." He explained the snakes. "So it's been twice now. I wrote to Sirius earlier today."

"Why didn't you speak up earlier?" he spoke sharply.

"The only way to make Voldemort realize I'm not afraid of him is to send the snakes back."

Dumbledore studied Harry for sometime. "You may go now, Harry, but let me remind you that only a fool is unafraid. There's a difference between foolishness and bravery. Remember that." Dumbledore said this and walked off down the hall. Harry walked down the other direction to where the Great Hall was; it was nearly time for lunch.

Halfway there he met Ron and Hermione, he was expecting this; he wasn't expecting Renata to still be there as well. "What did he say?" Ron said this and the three of them spread out across the corridor blocking as much of it as possible.

"It wasn't nice to make an assumption like I did about who I thought stole the book. Then I told him about the snakes."

A silence was creeping in. "You never took me to the secret passage. I want a way out of here."

"Is a tunnel from the grounds to Hogsmeadee okay? Or does it have to be from the castle itself to there?"

"The one on the grounds is fine."

"Tonight seven-ish?"

"Okay," Renata answered. Then instead of going down to lunch she headed back to Gryffindor Tower. The three of them headed down to the Great Hall. After lunch, to which Renata didn't show up to, Hermione went to talk to Lavender.

"Lavender, where's Renata?"

"She wasn't feeling well. I had to take her to Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione turned to Ron and Harry. "Don't look at us, we didn't even realize she wasn't here." Ron helped himself to some more chicken soup. After they ate they went to the hospital wing to check on Renata.

They reached the hospital wing and went inside. Madam Pomfrey was there.

"May I help you?"

"We heard Renata came in here. Is she alright?"

"She was feeling a bit dizzy, seemed to be caused by stress. I gave her a dose medicine and told her to go back to the Gryffindor Tower for some rest; a good nap does wonders on the weary. Whether its spell-backlash or just fatigue it does wonders."

"Thank you." They left. On the way up to Gryffindor Tower Hermione asked thoughtfully, "I wonder why she was upset."

In what he hoped would be an off-hand way Harry answered, "The mention of Voldemort probably upset her."

"No, it has to be more than that."

"I'm sure it was nothing."

Ron looked at him. "Harry," he looked at him hard. "You know something that we don't. Don't you?"

Harry looked around. He couldn't see anyone but there were voices coming down the hall. He pulled Hermione and Ron into an empty classroom. "Dumbledore kept me after you guys left because I upset someone. Did you two notice Renata get pale when I mentioned Voldemort?" They shook their heads. "Neither did I, but Dumbledore noticed it. He was only hinting to me but I got the message. While still in England, Renata's dad was killed by Voldemort."

"I didn't know."

"Neither did I."

"That's why she was upset. It got her thinking about the dad she never got to know. I understand what she was feeling so we better not bring it up." They left the room and continued on their way to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione went up the staircase to the girls' dormitory to see Renata. Ron and Harry got their broomsticks from their room and then waited at the bottom of the stairs a little off to the side, hoping Hermione would come down before anyone saw them.

The portal opened and Seamus came in "What are you two doing?"

Harry and Ron moved further from the stairs. "Er—waiting for Hermione to bring her homework down. We wanted some help with our—"

Harry had a sudden inspiration. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts essays. We were having trouble so Hermione and Renata are going to help us finish them."

"I'll leave you alone then. I'd rather stay clear of that new girl myself." He went up the boys' staircase.

It was a couple minutes before Hermione came, leading Renata down the stairs. Her eyes were a little puffy and red but she looked cheerful enough. "Hello!" She tried to smile. "Let's go."

"Are you coming with us to fly or going to the library with Hermione?"

"You are joking right? Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow; I'm signed up. I want time to practice and get used to your stadium. Be back in a flash," Renata raced back up the stairs and came back down a moment later with her broomstick. "All set."

They all started out down the corridors and down the halls until they reached the library. "I'll see you three at dinner." So the three of them continued down the stairs. They went outside and across the ground to the stadium. They made their way inside. Harry smiled as he entered. He couldn't wait until the season officially started. Flying fifty feet above the ground, listening to the excited roar of the crowd, avoiding Bludgers, watching the chasers put the Quaffle through the hoop, he himself chasing the Snitch; it was exhilarating.

Harry mounted his broom and was off. Renata was right behind. She yelled, "Think I can't catch you?" She sped up.

Harry looked back, and she was catching up. He put on a spurt of speed and then went into a spectacular dive. He pulled out of it just in time for his toes to skim the grass. Renata had been tailing him and for safety's sake pulled up a few feet from the ground. "Not bad." She continued upward and circled the goals. After a few more minutes of flying Harry got down for a break and Ron soared into the air. He did loops and spins then sank to the ground himself. The two of them were in and out of the air. After a while Renata joined them, panting, "You two can't be tired out just yet it's barely been an hour!"

"No, we're not tired," Harry told her.

"I'm going back inside. I feel bad that we all left Hermione," Ron added.

Renata rose in the air, circled once more and landed. Without even looking back, she slung her broom over her shoulder and headed off in the direction of the castle. Harry and Ron followed. They reached the doors of the castle and went inside. They went up to the library to look for Hermione.

"Madam Pince, is Hermione here?" Harry asked.

"No she was here for a few minutes a while ago and then she left."

"Thank you." They left and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower. Neville was standing outside the portrait hole.

"Hi, Neville."

"What's the matter, did you forget the password? It's 'Magister.' "

Neville shook his head mutely. He pointed to his closed mouth.

"Oh well, let's go in." Harry turned to the Fat Lady. "Magister." The portrait swung back and they all entered the common room. The four of them went over and sat together in the corner.

"What is it, Neville? What happened? Say something."

"I've got it!" Renata raced upstairs. She came back with a quill, a bottle of ink, and some parchment. "Write down what happened."

Neville took the quill and began to write. Harry was sitting next to him and read out loud as his currently silent friend scribbled. " 'Malfoy saw me and he put a curse on me so I can't talk. I was looking for Hermione so that she could do the counter-curse because I don't know what it is.' " Harry turned back to Neville. "Sorry I don't know where she is and I don't know the counter-curse is either."

Ron shook his head muttering, "Fight back next time."

Renata stood up, "Let's go tell my mom. I bet she could un-curse Neville."

Ron and Harry both said, "No! Are you crazy?"

Neville began to write again, "No! It will only make things worse."

"How?" Renata seemed utterly confused.

Harry looked at her. "You've never been bullied or beat up before have you?"

"Once or twice."

Ron retorted, "That's surprising. You've got Seamus and Dean scared enough not to even want to be in the same room with you."

"Really?" She looked pleased as if that had been her goal.

"Yeah. Let's go find Hermione. Maybe she is down at Hagrid's." The four of them left. When they reached Hagrid's hut out on the grounds they saw he was out working in the pumpkin patch behind his house. He wiped the sweat off his brow as he saw them coming.

"Alrigh' there?"

"Were fine Hagrid but we're looking for Hermione. Have you seen her?"

"She was aroun' here a while ago bu' she left. Said she had somewhere to be."

"Did she mention where she was going?"

"No, bu' Ginny was with her. I don' know where they went."

"Thanks." They turned and headed back in the direction of the castle.

As soon as they were out of earshot from Hagrid Ron asked as much to the sky as anyone else, "Why are we one step behind her all afternoon?"

"Let's see if she's in the Great Hall."

Neville nodded. He seemed to be tired of not being able to talk. They entered the Great Hall and spotted Hermione standing at the marble staircase while talking to Nearly-Headless-Nick. He was the resident Ghost of Gryffindor Tower; the nickname came from the fact that his neck had been hacked at forty-two times with a blunt axe in an attempt to decapitate him and so he had died. He was saying, "No, not really anything out of the usual. I'm sure that if things did get dangerous stricter security would be given to the Castle."

"Thanks, Sir Nick. I don't want anyone hurt and if they aren't careful around here I'm sure bad things will happen. They already started to. Did you—" she saw the group heading towards her and she said goodbye to Nick. "I was looking for you."

"Hermione, Neville's been cursed by Malfoy again. He can't talk and we don't know how long it'll last. Could you take it off him?"

"I could try but I don't have my wand with me."

Harry reached into his pocket and handed his wand to Hermione. With a few well-chosen words and a wrist movement she had Neville talking again. "You really shouldn't let him do this to you, Neville."

"Why don't you fight back?" Ron asked.

"Things only get worse. Thanks, Hermione." Neville shuffled off.

"Where've you been Hermione? We couldn't find you," Ron said accusingly.

"I was in the library and when I had finished some extra credit star charts for astronomy I didn't have anything else to do. So I went back to the Common Room and Ginny was there so we took a walk down to Hagrid's house. Then she said she had to be somewhere so we left. I don't know where she is now, I think someone in her class wanted to talk to her. I don't know who it was, Colin, or Clare or someone. I really don't remember the name. I came back here and I was just talking to Nick."

"Lets go eat." They made their way down to the Gryffindor Table. A few minutes after them Fred and George came in followed by their friend Lee Jordan.

Lee said, "Guess who is still running the commentary for the Hogwarts Quidditch matches? Yours truly," he grinned.

Fred and George thumped his back, "That's our man!" The three of them went into a discussion on how great the Gryffindor team would probably be this year.

"So," Renata said putting down her fork. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"I need to write a letter," Hermione said.

"To who?" Ron asked rather suspiciously.

"It's none of your business, but I guess I'll tell you anyway. I'm writing to Neville's grandmother. She really should know that he's being picked on. I think I'll suggest some defense classes over the holidays."

"Yeah, Karate chops will come in real handy when somebody's coming up and jinxing him from behind," Ron said in a sarcastic tone.

"I wasn't suggesting those kind of self defense classes, I meant magic ones!" Hermione's face had gone hot. "It was only a thought, I don't like to see people get hurt."

Neither one of them said anything for sometime. "So, after we're done why don't we check the library for that book and then we'll go to Hogsmeadee."

The others all agreed. The four of them went up to the library. In three hours of searching the many, many rows of books all they came up with was three books. They checked them out and brought them to Gryffindor Tower to review when they would have time. Hermione put them with her things because among all the other books she had a few more wouldn't be very noticeable. They all left the castle and went to the grounds. Eventually they came to the Whomping Willow at the center of the grounds.

"What are we doing here?" Renata backed away from the flailing limbs of the tree.

"This is the passage out of Hogwarts. Are you game?"

"Yeah."

Harry picked up a dead limb and pushed in one of the tree's knots. He, along with the others went down into the little tunnel as the branches remained as lifeless as marble. Harry lit his wand, "Lumos!" They continued along the tunnel until they reached a set of stairs. With a good shove the door opened and they were in a dust filled living room. "Welcome to the Shrieking Shack. The most haunted building in all of Britain." With a little bit of trouble they managed to get the back door opened and they stepped out. "Down the hill is the village. Anybody want to go down and get some butterbeer?"

"Do you think Madam Rosmerta would notice that we were there and it's not an assigned day?"

"How bad can it be? My dad used to come here all the time with Sirius and Lupin. Fred and George never get in trouble either. And we didn't get in trouble last time." Together they went down to the Three Broomsticks.

Ron ordered the drinks and brought over four hot tankards to the table they were sitting at.

"This isn't real beer is it? Not alcoholic, right?" Renata asked.

"Of course not. Like root beer. Students from Hogwarts drink this stuff all the time. Its great." They began to drink their drinks and they felt warmed up immediately; it had been a bit cold outside.

"It's a good thing its not too crowded today. Otherwise someone might recognize us." It was true: there was a witch deeply engrossed in some book she was reading. At another table a young woman, maybe no more than twenty years old, she left about five minutes after they had sat down.

They were almost finished when Professor Dumbledore came in. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ducked under the table with their drinks pulling Renata with them. They left immediately. They made their way back to the Shrieking Shack, through the door; they locked it behind them and went back down the tunnel. It was difficult but they managed to hit the knot and freeze the branches in place long enough to get out. "That was close, I should have brought my invisibility cloak. I wonder what Dumbledore was doing there."

Ron and Harry found Neville trembling outside the door of their dorm; it was his dorm too after all. "What are you doing out here, Neville?"

"If Malfoy's been picking on you again I swear I'm gonna—"

"N-no. I was in there and it…a boa constrictor came through the window. Its probably still on your bed, Harry."

Ron and Harry looked at each other. "Thanks, Neville. We'll call you in when it's gone." They rushed through the doors. Sure enough when Harry pulled back his velvet hangings there was a Brazilian Boa Constrictor on his bed. It raised its head until its eyes were level with Harry's.

"Amigo, itsss been a long time. Brazzzil was niccce, graciassss."

"Harry, what did it say?" Ron asked eagerly.

Harry was listening to the snake. "We've met?"

"Five yearsss, ago. The Muggle zoo."

"I remember."

"I have a messssage. The next sssnake you meet isss likely to be your ending. Mossst sssnakesss are not sso niccce. They are sssent by thosse which wisssh you harm. If ever you come acrossss Nagini beware of your life. Ssshe will not ssspare you. Her massster would forbid it and causssse terrible wrath. I heard of thessse thingsss and came here to warn you. Be watchful, Harry Potter." The snake slithered off the bed and across the floor.

"Thank you. Where can I find you?"

"Where ever I am, I am, adiosss." The snake left out the window.

"Harry, what was it?" Ron seemed anxious.

"I knew that snake. I freed it from a Muggle zoo five years ago. Before I knew I was a wizard."

"What did it say?"

"He said he'd never seen Brazil."

Ron shook Harry a little bit, "Not then, now."

"He came to warn me. A snake that wants to kill me is working for Voldemort. A snake named Nagini."

Ron sputtered. "That- _that_ snake knows that You-Know-Who is going to try to… and that he's going to use a snake."

Harry did not want any more to do with the conversation. He went to the door and told Neville it was okay to come in. Ron knew the conversation was over. As Harry climbed into bed and pulled the velvet hangings around his bed closed, he had trouble sleeping. His thoughts were haunted by visions coming unbidden to his head. Snakes. Voldemort. The last moments of his parents' lives. And throughout it all there was a high, cold laugh. Eventually an uneasy sleep took him.

In the morning Harry woke up and the dorm was empty. Neville, Seamus and Dean were all downstairs at breakfast. Harry got dressed and went down to the Common Room. Once again, Ron and Hermione were waiting for him. "We were almost ready to go down without you."

"You should have been early since we've got a stop to make." Harry looked at her questioningly. "We have to go see Dumbledore, Harry. A third snake."

"But this one was friendly. I actually knew him. I don't think it's a big deal."

"Yes it is. You haven't heard from Sirius yet. You need to tell someone."

"Can it wait until after breakfast? I don't feel much like talking yet."

"No. After breakfast we have to get to class and after that it'll be one excuse after another. We have to talk to him, now. There won't be time before class." Hermione stayed to wait for Renata, while Harry and Ron went to see Dumbledore. They continued silently on their way until they reached the gargoyle guarding the stairs that led to Dumbledore office. "Chocolate Frog." The gargoyle sprang aside and they entered. They went up the stairs and knocked on the door. After several minutes there was still no answer.

"Should we chance it?"

"I will." Harry opened the door and went inside. The portraits of passed headmasters and headmistresses snored on the wall as usual and Fawkes was back on his perch on the shelf. He fluttered down to Harry's shoulder. Harry stroked him for a moment. Then called, "Professor Dumbledore." There was no answer and Harry didn't dare to knock on the next door; the one that probably led to where Dumbledore lived.

"Now what do we do?"

"I suggest we leave a note." Harry took a piece of paper and a scarlet quill from Dumbledore's desk. He began to write.

_Professor,_

_ Last night another snake met me. It was one I met when I was living as a Muggle. He just warned me of another snake. He said Voldemort has a favorite snake, Nagini, and that that is the one who will be more than a messenger._

_Harry_

It was only as Harry put the quill back where it had been that he realized that it was probably Fawkes's feather. Fawkes returned to the shelf and Harry and Ron left the study. 

The morning mail arrived and Hedwig had a letter for Harry. She landed on the table and helped herself to some of his toast. Harry ripped open the letter from Sirius.

_Harry, now I want you to promise me that you won't be wandering around alone at night. The snakes could be more than messengers. Tell me at once if there are any more snakes or any more problems._

_ Things are going fine with what we're working on. I won't be able to make it to Hogsmeadee this trip. It's just as well since I suppose you'd rather catch up on some shopping. I'll try and visit you at Christmas when the castle is less crowded. _

_Sirius _

When he was done with it he passed the letter to Ron and Hermione. When they were done with it he put the letter away. "He's worried."

"So? He cares about you."

"I don't like it when he's worried."

"That's because you spent ten years with the Dursleys, without anyone caring about you. They wanted you to be miserable." Harry and Ron went up to the North Tower for Divination class with Professor Trelawny and Renata and Hermione went to Arithmacy. Professor Trelawny always seemed to be predicting Harry's death; having to listen to her do so grew quite tiring. Fortunately by sitting in the back and making himself scarce Harry avoided Professor Trelawny.

It was Monday afternoon and all their classes for the day were finally finished. Harry trudged out to the Quidditch field with his broom on his shoulder, with him were Fred and George Weasley, Renata, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and a few other Gryffindors of various years trying out for the house team. The other three houses would have their own tryouts over the next few days. Madam Hooch was waiting. "Mount your brooms and on my whistle I want three warm-up laps. Three…two…one!" The whistle blared and they were up. After the first few laps they came down and each went through various drills according to what position they were trying out for. Almost three hours later they were finally finished. "Great job, everyone! The teams will be posted on the bulletin board in the Gryffindor Common Room on the day before Halloween." The tired students trudged back up to the tower. Not speaking much.

When they neared the tower Fred and George took the lead. As the approached the portrait of the Fat Lady and she inquired, "Password?"

Fred said, "I'm wiped."

George yawned, "Me, too." In unison, falling to the ground in fake exhaustion, they said, "Goodnight!" They blocked the door and no could get in. After being genially punched and kicked a bit by Harry and then Renata as well, and some whining and remarks from the other waiting Gryffindors, they got up and after giving the password they all went in. Harry was about to head up the stairs when Fred and George dashed in front of him. "Excuse us!" They both put on an interesting performance: they pushed each other down the stairs repeatedly.

Eventually Harry got bored of waiting and hit them both on the head with his broom. The twins feigned dizziness and fell backward onto one of the couches. Harry climbed into his pajamas and pulled the velvet hangings around his bed closed and he shut his eyes.


	9. Haunts

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER NINE: **Haunts

Halloween was almost upon them. It was Thursday and Monday would be Halloween. Harry got up and went down to breakfast with Ron. Hermione and Renata were already in the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table. Dean said, "Did anyone see the bulletin board this morning?" 

"Yeah," Seamus answered. "There's a Hogsmeadeee trip is tomorrow."

"I need to pick up some Dungbombs from Zonkos."

"Ron, why do you waste your time with those things?" asked Hermione.

"Dungbombs rule."

"We really should get going. We've got to get to Herbology or we'll be late." Harry, Ron, Hermione, Renata, Seamus, and Dean made their way across the grounds to the Greenhouses. Several Hufflepuffs and Neville were already waiting.

Professor Sprout emerged from Greenhouse Two. "Greenhouse one today!" She went back inside and the class trailed in after her. "Today we will be working with Mandrakes. Yes, I know we've covered these already but my new Stinging Fruit Bushes won't be here until next week; and the second years that were supposed to transplant these for me never finished. Let's have a quick review. What about a Mandrake is deadly?" Hermione raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"The cry of a Mandrake will kill you."

"Excellent, five points to Gryffindor. What about a Mandrake is useful?"

Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff, raised his hand, "Mandrakes are important in most antidotes."

"Very good Justin, five points to Hufflepuff. Now class I want you in groups of four. Everyone must have on earmuffs from up front here before we begin to work. This lesson will count as a pop quiz because you all have known how to transplant Mandrakes by now. Fertilizer is up here and there are pots for each of you. Begin!" Everyone scrambled up to the front to seize a pair of earmuffs that weren't pink. Harry, Ron, and Hermione worked with Renata. Harry pulled the Mandrake out by its leaves; they were they only part above the soil. When the Mandrake was completely out he was holding an extremely ugly baby bawling at the top of its lungs. After a while Harry managed to force it into the new pot. Although the class found the assignment easier than it had been when they were second years it was still no easy job.

At last, dirty and sweaty the students were allowed to remove their earmuffs and trudge back inside the castle to get washed up before lunch. Sitting in the common room Ron and Harry were working with a scouring charm to get the dirt out from under their nails and they only achieved minimal success.

After lunch they went to their History of Magic class. As usual Professor Binns entered through his blackboard and began to talk of goblin rebellions and anti-witch/wizard acts passed by Muggles over the years. When the class was finally over, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata left with the others. Ron said, "Why isn't it tomorrow yet?"

"Because the world decided to torture us." The rest of the day passed slowly. By the time Ron, Harry, and Neville were back in the dormitory and getting ready for bed it felt as though a week had gone by. The time until Saturday seemed to pass just as slowly for all the third years and above who were awaiting the upcoming Hogsmeadeee trip.

As was usual for most of the students on weekends, Harry rose late Saturday. It was quarter to ten before he was in the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione. Ron was pouring syrup onto his pancakes when he said, "I reckon we should show Renata around today. The only time she's been to Hogsmeadeee was the day we took her and we were barely there."

"I already offered to show her around," Hermione said. "Parvati and Lavender offered too but I think she'll stick with us."

"Well, is she meeting us now or somewhere in the village?" Harry asked between mouthfuls.

"Renata told me that if she was awake she'd come with us; if not, she would meet up with us somewhere in the village," Hermione answered promptly.

The three of them finished eating and where in the entrance hall less than a half an hour later. They were just getting ready to leave when a voice called, "Wait up!" Renata was running down the marble stairs. "Just a sec!" She went to the great hall and came back a moment later munching a piece of toast. "All set." She walked to the door, then turned, laughing she said, "Coming or not?" They caught up. The four of them, along with most of the other Hogwarts students third year and older where walking across the grounds until they came to the gates and officially exited the school grounds. It wasn't too far of a walk to the village from there.

"Lets go to Honeydukes," Harry suggested. Honeydukes was the sweetshop in the village, but it didn't have anything you would expect; no Mars Bars, no M&Ms. What it did have was Drooble's Best-Blowing Bubblegum, Bertie Botts Every flavor Beans, Liquorice Wands, and other assorted sweets. "Ron, which would scare Dudley worse, Pepper Imps or those levitating Sherbet Balls?"

"I'm not sure," Ron said picking up a Cockroach Cluster. "Why not give him these?"

"Gross isn't enough. I want to scare him with magic but since I can't cast spells outside of school, this is the next best thing."

Hermione looked at both of them with serious disapproval. "It's not very nice."

"Neither is Dudley," Ron pointed out.

"Renata, which do you think would scare my cousin worse, levitating a few inches off the ground or having smoke come out of his ears?"

"I think the sherbet ball. But unless you're planning to go home over the holidays I wouldn't buy it until the end of the year otherwise the spell in the candy could wear off."

"Good point." Harry along with the others went up to the register. Harry purchased some Chocolate Frogs, a few packs of Drooble's Best-Blowing Bubblegum, and, a new addition to the store, a box of Gingerbread men that ran away so you had to chase them in order to eat them.

The owner had told them, "These should be selling well when the holidays come, but I wanted some test sales now."

The three of them stopped at the post office. It was an interesting place filled with owls tagged with different colors. The cost of delivering the letter depended on how far the owl had to go and how fast you wanted it to get there. Next they went to Zonkos, the joke shop. Lee Jordan was there with the Weasley twins. The owner was examining some of the twins' products in their line of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes; it was their own line of jokes that they hoped to have running, they included fake wands, "Canary Creams" which briefly turned you into a large canary before you molted a moment later, and Ton-Tongue Toffees which contained an engorgement charm. Harry's cousin had been unfortunate to come across one of the toffees the summer before, though Harry and the Weasley boys thoroughly felt Dudley had deserved what he got. Harry and Ron left Zonkos with Filibuster's Fabulous No Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks and of course a sack of Dungbombs. It was getting a bit chilly when they came out.

"I think we should head to the Three Broomsticks." They made their way to the pub. Harry went to get drinks from Madam Rosmerta at the bar. It was much busier today. Harry carried the drinks back to the table.

"Hogsmeadeee isn't bad," Renata remarked.

"It's the only completely non-Muggle settlement in Britain. Its terrific." Ron poked Harry and pointed off to one corner where a single figure sat. "Isn't that the girl that was here when we were?"

"I think so."

Hermione looked up and saw her. "She must be staying the village."

When Harry went back to talking with his friends he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them. Or the feeling that the person watching them was the young woman in the corner. When they had finished their drinks they got up and left. Just outside the door, Harry ran into someone, literally. It was a red-haired person, rather stocky with a good-natured face, and a bandaged arm. It was Charlie Weasley.

"Hello, Harry," He grinned at him.

Before Harry could respond Ron did, "What are you doing here?"

Hermione responded before Charlie could. "What happened to your arm?"

"Let's all go in and sit down." So the four of them accompanied by Charlie went back inside. The table they had left just a few moments before was still empty so they returned to it. "First off," Charlie told them once they were seated and had drinks. "Truth be told this is in a way Hagrid's fault, you know. I was dealing with that dragon of his and I got burned. It was worse not so bad now but they gave me a couple days off and I wanted to stop here before stopping by home and then going back to work in Peru."

"Peru? Charlie, weren't you stationed in Romania?"

"What? Hagrid's got a dragon?" Ron's expression clearly said "Not another one!"

"No, don't worry. I was talking about that Longhorn he had earlier this year. I was the one sent to pick her up and take her to a dragon reservation. Yeah, I was in Romania, but they've got me helping to train a few wizards that are a bit new to handling the dragons out there, besides the Peruvian Vipertooth is the fastest dragon there is. I've never had a chance to study one really. A little in Romania, that place is a reservation for most types of dragons, but I've never studied in it's own environment before. It's good to see you all. I'll tell mum and dad hi for you." Charlie got up and left, as did the others. They said goodbye to Charlie and headed back to the school.

Dinner was just starting as they arrived in the Great Hall. Renata saw Parvati and Lavender looking at her and they were more than a little bit cross. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat a few seats over. They could hear the two girls telling Renata that she should have told them she wasn't spending the day with them because they were waiting for half an hour before Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff girl, told them that she'd seen Renata leave. Renata seemed to let the words go in one ear and out the other as she watched her mom at the staff table looking s bit pale. After dinner, Harry and Ron went back to the common room to do the Divination homework they'd been assigned that they still hadn't completed. They were supposed to explain the relativity of the stars positions to those of the planets. The two of them finally finished as Hermione returned from the library.

"Is it just me or are we getting more work than last year?" Ron asked as he slammed _A Clairvoyant's Guide to Knowing All _down on the desk.

"Of course we're getting more work," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "We are taking the O.W.L.s this year." The O.W.L.s were the Ordinary Wizarding Levels, tests taken by the students in their fifth year. It was late, so Hermione said goodnight and went upstairs.

"She'll have study schedules for us by Christmas," Ron muttered shaking his head. Harry and he cleared up their books, parchment, quills, ink bottles, and headed upstairs. They went upstairs and changed into their pajamas. Harry pulled the crimson hangings around his bed closed and fell asleep.

In the morning Ron and Harry went down to breakfast with Seamus and Dean. The morning mail arrived as usually by hundreds of owls flying into the Great Hall. To Harry's surprise and confusion an owl landed in front of him. It wasn't Hedwig. Sirius must have heard something. Harry checked that Seamus and Dean were deep in conversation before opening his letter. However, the letter was not from Sirius. It read:

_Harry Potter,_

_ You were looking for something important, and yet for some reason unbeknownst to myself you seemed to have stopped. Continue your search for information on the _Book of Ever_. If you still need more help with information I shall send something on Christmas.___

_A Friend of A Friend_

When Harry was done reading it and wearing a flabbergasted expression he handed it to Ron. Ron was bewildered. He asked in an undertone, "Who sent this?"

"Dunno."

"Maybe Dumbledore."

"No, he would have signed it, or just talked to us. Besides when he helps us he's not so direct."

"Then who sent it?"

When Hermione came downstairs fifteen minutes later the boys still had no idea as to who sent the letter. "What's the matter with you two?" Harry showed her the letter. "Who sent this?"

"We don't know."

"Lets go for a walk around the lake and think." They got up and went outside. They walk around the lake for a while then settled down in the shade. "We don't know who did send the letter but we've got a good idea of who _didn't_ send it. We could make a list." So the did. An hour later the list was looking very long but it didn't help know did send it. The list was unfortunately all bottom and no top. They knew none of the teachers had sent it, none of the students, not Lupin, and not Sirius.

"What does it mean 'we stopped our search'?" asked Ron.

"Isn't it obvious? We were all looking for, I guess I should say _searching_ to find out what the _Book of Ever_ was. We haven't looked at the books since we brought them back from the library. The person who sent this knows that we were looking for the information and that we hadn't found it. But who knows? Everyone is on our list! This is frustrating. Harry you are going to tell Professor Dumbledore, right?"

"Hermione, Harry isn't a baby. he doesn't need to tell Dumbledore whenever he gets a letter."

"How about Sirius? You have to tell someone responsible."

"Okay, then." Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry in shock. Harry stood up and wearing a serious expression he said, "Ron, I would like to tell you about a suspicious letter I received this morning. It was signed 'a friend of a friend' and I don't know who sent it." He turned to Hermione. "Happy now?"

"That is not what I meant and you know it!"

"Hermione, Ron's right I don't need someone to watch out for me all the time."

"Think about it, Harry, there has always been someone watching you, all the time." Harry looked at her, perplexed. She spoke very angrily, "When you were little it was your parents, while you were with the Dursleys you had them and without even knowing it Mrs. Figg too probably, at Hogwarts Dumbledore always seems to know more or less where you are and what you're doing! You always have people watching out for you! Although somehow they still don't manage to pay enough attention."

Harry realized Hermione had a point but he still didn't like the facts and he wasn't about to admit she was right. "I don't care and I don't have to tell the Headmaster everything that happens. He's got plenty of other people to worry about right now." Hermione burst into tears and ran off muttering something about how stupid boys could be.

"I'm going in to see if they posted the new Quidditch line up yet." Without waiting for Ron's response Harry turned heel and left for Gryffindor Tower. Ron easily caught up to him but he didn't say anything. The only time either of them spoke again was at the portrait where they gave the password. Harry went straight to the bulletin board.

People were clustered around it he and Ron edged their way to the front. The line up read as following: Keeper, Renata Delano; Beater, Fred Weasley; Beater, George Weasley; Chaser, Alicia Spinnet; Chaser, Angelina Johnson; Chaser, Katie Bell; Seeker, Harry Potter. At the top of the list next to Captain was the name Harry Potter. __

"You did it, Harry!" Ron said.

Fred and George came over and said, "Good job, Harry."

"When's our first practice, coach?" George asked grinning.

"Tuesday or Wednesday I guess," replied Harry.

"Good man, you won't make us work through Halloween."

"See you." The twins left.

"I wonder if Renata knows she made the team," Harry said, mostly just thinking out loud.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday at dinner. I bet she is with Hermione."

"Or Parvati and Lavender. They didn't like that she ditched them yesterday." A little while later Ron and Harry went down to dinner. They didn't see Hermione anywhere. "I wonder if she might be in the bathroom crying."

"I don't think she's done that since we were in our first year." Harry was remembering Halloween five years ago, as of tomorrow. It had been from that day on that Hermione was their friend. "I hope she's not still upset."

"She still shouldn't have bossed you around so much, though," commented Ron through a mouth thoroughly stuff with mashed potatoes.

"All the same…" Harry said as they headed up marble staircase afterward. "I don't think I need to tell Dumbledore. I don't need taking care of all the time."

The next day, Hermione barely spoke to Harry and spoke only slightly more to Ron. Other than that, the day passed as normal as things got at Hogwarts. When they arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast the usual Halloween decorations were up. There were about a hundred carved pumpkins, and live bats flying back and forth. Harry could hardly believe it was October 31 already, it seemed only yesterday had been September 1 and he had gotten on the train. The school was in its usual excitement for Halloween. That night, after lessons, everyone was assembled for the feast. The golden plates and goblets were sparkling clean. Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Happy Halloween!" The smile he wore seemed too big for merely his face to hold. As he had spoken, the platters and bowls had filled with food; the house-elves had done a superb job with their cooking. After everyone had finished eating all the candles were extinguished except those in the carved pumpkins. Then the ghosts rose into the air.

The ghosts glided around for a while in formations. Harry nudged Ron and nodded over to the right; Moaning Myrtle had come out of her toilet to join the ghosts. This was surprising because Myrtle, unlike the other ghosts, was extremely sensitive of the fact that she was dead and spent most of her time sobbing in the bathroom where she had died. Myrtle came over and sat by Ron. "Hello. You two haven't visited me in ages." She was her glum self. "Neither has your friend."

"We've been busy and we don't want to get in trouble."

"I guess." She floated away. The Bloody Baron, the gaunt Slytherin ghost, then immersed all the students in a dramatic and gruesome story of his death. It may have been true, as he was covered with silver blood. Or it may not have been, but it was quite frightening all the same. As the Baron had been telling it he had glided in and out of the shadows. Several times throughout the story students had shrieked. At the end he settled down in his seat right next to Draco Malfoy. Ron, as well as Harry was pleased to see Malfoy was even paler than usual and not happy with the ghost sitting beside him.

Professor Dumbledore stood up, "It's time for bed. Off you go, now!"

Harry walked up with Ron. "I don't think I've ever heard the Bloody Baron speak before."

"Do you reckon its true? The story?"

"I don't know." At any rate it had been interesting. As they reached the tower Harry spotted Hermione. She looked composed. The story seemed not to have upset her in the least, but her eyes were slightly red and a bit puffy from earlier. As Harry and Ron ascended the stairs to their dormitory they called "'Night, Hermione!" She ignored them. Harry, very tired and full, fell asleep as soon as he lay down on his bed.

The next day passed fairly the same as the last. Professor McGonagall, head of the Gryffindor house had given them lots of very hard Transfiguration homework.

After the last lesson of the afternoon was over Harry got his Firebolt from his trunk, said goodbye to Ron, who was about to start some hopeless equations to determine the position of Jupiter's moons the day he was born. Harry went out to the Quidditch field. Hermione still wasn't on speaking terms with him. It was getting annoying. In a few minutes the rest of the team was out there with him. They all looked at him waiting for instructions. He didn't know what to say.

George poked Harry with his broom handle and whispered to him, "Say something."

"Er—"

"What was that, Harry?" asked Fred.

"It looks like we've got a great team this year. I know if we work and train hard that Quidditch Cup will have our name on it this year. I know it will. Why doesn't everybody take a few laps around the field while I get the balls out of the broom shed?" The others mounted and took off while he went to open the shed. Harry took out a large crate. He opened it and inside there were four balls: a tiny golden one called the Snitch, a red one the size of a soccer ball called the Quaffle and two black ones slightly smaller than the Quaffle that were straining to escaped the straps holding them in the box. When Harry took the crate he had also grabbed two short bats, rather like the ones used in Cricket. The team was back on the ground. He took a deep breath, "Okay why don't Angelina, Alicia, and Katie get the Quaffle and practice their scoring and Renata can work with them trying to block them. Fred and George can take their bats and I'll let the Bludgers out and see if I can catch the Snitch. Let's go." Harry threw the Quaffle to Renata and she took off with the other girls. Fred and George took their familiar bats and soared high. Harry let out the Bludgers and the Snitch, all three of these balls zoomed into the air and Harry followed. It turned out to be a good training session. Thanks to Fred and George no one got hit by the Bludgers; as Wood, the old captain who had graduated at the end of Harry's third year, had once told him the Weasley twins were practically a pair of human Bludgers themselves. As good as the Gryffindor Chasers were, they had a hard time getting the Quaffle passed Renata. Tired out, they all went inside as it began to get dark. Harry and Fred wrestled the Bludgers back into the crate (the Snitch had already been put away) and Harry put the crate back in the broom shed. They all went inside.

On the way back to Gryffindor Tower Renata took hold of Harry's arm, she was strong and it was like a vice grip. "Look, you've gotta to apologize to Hermione. She was only looking out for you and she is real upset. If I were you I would say something soon. She's your friend, she cares about you and she doesn't want you hurt and she doesn't want to lose you. If you are really willing to risk losing a friend like her you are just an idiot, " She stared at him for a moment with a look Harry couldn't decipher and then let go of his arm and went inside.

After a moment of rubbing his arm to get the feeling back in it Harry did too. Reluctantly, Harry went over to where Hermione was sitting. "Can I talk to you a minute?" She looked at him rather coldly. He figured he deserved it. He took a deep breath because he knew he'd have trouble saying the next few sentences. "I shouldn't have been so rude when you were looking out for me. I don't know who sent the letter but I am going to wait a bit and see if I can figure out anymore of it before going to Dumbledore. I know you were just trying to help. Sorry."

"Thank you, and apology accepted." She smiled "Let's go see Ron, I think he needs help with his Transfiguration homework."

They were all friends again. Things were much better that way. The next weeks went by quickly. It was mid-November and the Gryffindor's first Quidditch match of the season was about to take place, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. The night before the match Harry had trouble sleeping, and why shouldn't he? It would be his first match of the year. In the morning at breakfast Harry could hardly eat, although the other Gryffindors were full of confidence in the team and they were all looking forward to watching a good match. Outside the locker room Ron and Hermione wished Harry good luck and they went to get seats. Harry and the others on the team went into the locker room to put on their scarlet Quidditch robes. Then Harry began his speech. "What can I say? We've got a great team this year. We've been practicing hard and we know what to do. As long as we fly how we've been doing at practice we'll do just great. Let's go win us a match." As Harry said these last words Fred and George cracked their bats together. "Wait, where's Katie?"

"She's sick. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let her leave the hospital wing, not even to _watch_ the match."

"Katie is really upset that she's missing the first match."

"Sorry though she is, that doesn't help us," frowned Harry. "What are we supposed to do?"

"I'll fill in for Katie. I played as Chaser sometimes, back at the Angels' Academy And then whoever our reserve Keeper is can play for me."

Then the team stepped out onto the field and the crowd was roaring with cheers, with the exception of the boos coming from the Slytherins and a little less support from the Ravenclaw house which of course was rooting for its own team.

Madam Hooch called the captains to her, "I want a fair game. Shake hands." Harry turned and, slightly pink in the cheeks, he shook hands with Cho Chang the Ravenclaw captain. "Mount your brooms. On my whistle…3…2…1…" She blew her whistle, the balls were released and they were all in the air.

The twins' friend Lee Jordan, closely observed by Professor McGonagall, was running the commentary. If he wasn't being observed he tended to get more carried away than usual. "And they're off. Renata Delano is filling in for Katie Bell and Alec Freeman is playing in Renata's place. Ravenclaw has the Quaffle. Chaser Mandy Brocklehurst attempts to score and Gryffindor's new keeper Renata Delano who is acting as a replacement Chaser for this match steals the Quaffle. She looks to be an excellent Quidditch player but if she hopes to be better than former Keeper Oliver Wood she may need some work before the next match. Okay, so Gryffindor in possession Angelina Johnson has the Quaffle attempts to score and…ten points to Gryffindor!"

Harry soared mostly above the rest of the game keeping an eye out for the Snitch. At one point a Bludger came his way and George beat it towards the other team and said hi to Harry. Then Harry saw the Snitch, it was just behind Madam Hooch's broom. Harry knew Cho's strategy was to follow the other Seeker and then out fly him or her. So Harry took a steep dive in the opposite direction, pulling up inches from the ground and then he took off after the Snitch, he almost had it but it began to change direction. By now Cho had seen the Snitch and was going after it too. Both Seekers were coming from opposite directions and it was likely that they would crash. Meanwhile Lee was still commenting. "Chaser Terry Boot for Ravenclaw narrowly scores bringing the total points so far with Gryffindor still in the lead 30 points to 20 points." Lee then noticed Cho and Harry. "Whoa, looks like our Seekers might crash head on if someone doesn't change course soon." He was right.

Just barely arms length away from the Snitch Harry turned his broom and then grabbed the Snitch from the side and then he flew up and flew in a few circles. Lee Jordan had been watching. "And the game is over! Gryffindor wins! 180 points to 20 points!" The catch of the Snitch ends a match and gives the team who catches it an extra one hundred fifty points. Harry and the rest of the team landed. The stands emptied as the students came down to congratulate the teams.

"Great job, Harry!" Ron said patting him on the back.

"You were all terrific!" exclaimed Hermione.

Over the din the twins yelled, "Party in the Common Room tonight!" The twins used the afternoon filch food from the kitchen, and using one of the secret passageways get some Honeydukes candy and some butter beer from the Three Broomsticks. The party lasted most of the night.

It was soon the week before Christmas break, the time and gone by so fast. Professor McGonagall was coming around Gryffindor Tower with a sign up sheet for people that were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas break. Harry signed up immediately. Hermione and Ron stayed too, not because like him they were unwanted at home, but to keep Harry company. Harry and Ron were usually the only two from their dormitory staying, and things were no different this year. The last Saturday before the holidays was another Hogsmeadeee day.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shopped for a while. Hermione picked out presents for her parents so she could send them off later. They were walking passed Dervish and Banges when a drawling voice near them said, "Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers are going to get it first. My bet is you won't live the year out." Draco Malfoy stared coldly at the three of them before disappearing in the crowd.

"C'mon, let's go," Harry muttered. They turned and left the walked until they reached Dervish and Banges. They stopped a moment and then continued on. They reached a trail near a hill and stopped; apparently waiting for something.

After a moment Hermione spoke quietly. "I was expecting a big, black dog." Ron and Harry nodded they were about to turn when a dark shape emerged from the bushes. It was a large, black dog.

The dog immediately turned up the path. The students followed. They climbed up the hill. They reached a fissure in the rocks and went inside to a cave. The dog then transformed into Sirius Black. "I said that I would come when I could."

Harry grinned. "You didn't say you were coming today." Harry noticed something tied in the back or the cave. "How long has Buckbeak been here?"

"Dawn. Would the three of you take him to Hagrid when you go back? I've grown rather fond of him but I don't have much time for a pet just now."

"Have you heard anything?"

"Not much. A few trusted ministry officials that believe our side have been informed not to pass information to those that got off on their Death Eater charges all those years ago. But there is something else." Sirius cocked his head. "Tom, from the Leaky Cauldron, was missing for almost a week after you lot left. And he's gone again."

"Why? Did he say where he'd been?"

"We don't know. No one has told him anything yet, but we don't suspect him of anything either. The Leaky Cauldron is supposed remain neutral in all of this. Pass this information on for me, would you? I don't really have much time for a visit to Hogwarts. I've got to be back at Remus's place soon. I'll see you when I can." Sirius patted Buckbeak on his beak for a moment then turned into his dog form and left.

"Don't let anyone see you face, Sirius!" called Ron.

Evidently Sirius had heard him; padded feet were coming back to the cave. He changed back to himself long enough to say, "I better not hear about any of you in trouble." He transformed to his four-legged shape and left again.

Harry turned to the others. "Let's go then." He approached Buckbeak, bowed, and waited for the Hippogriff to return the bow. He did. Harry patted his beak then untied him and led him down out of the cave, Hermione and Ron followed. As they made it back to Hogwarts got several curious glances from passersby. As soon as they reached the grounds they headed to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was outside with Fang. "Hullo! What're you lot up to? Not up ter any trouble I hope."

"We've brought you someone, Hagrid!" called Harry. He approached with Buckbeak.

"Buckbeak! How'd yeh find 'im?" Hagrid was petting and patting the Hippogriff happily.

"We found him up around Hogsmeadeee."

"What will you do with him, Hagrid?"

"Probably see if the other Hippogriffs let him back in. They don' like ter when one has been gone too long. Bu' we'll see." Harry could tell Hagrid hoped they wouldn't so that he could keep him. "You three better head up ter the castle it's getting' late. Yeh shouldn't be out after dark. These 're bad days ahead."

"We've got plenty of time to walk back to the castle, Hagrid. Bye!" They set off. After dinner they went up to the Tower. Harry found a note on his bed when he went to his dorm. It held only three words. Harry, confused, read them aloud. "Are you frightened?" The paper burst into green flames as he spoke and the flames left no ashes behind. He fell into a dreamless slumber.

Harry woke up on Christmas morning, rather short of breath. This was due to the fact that he had been waken by having Ron throw a pillow at his face. Harry put on his glasses and threw the pillow back at Ron, "Merry Christmas!"

"Presents!" Ron said both he and Harry began to open the piles that were at the end of their beds. Hermione came in a moment later, with a dressing gown over her nightgown and her arms full of packages, and she sat on Seamus' empty bed; Seamus, Dean, and Neville had all gone home for the holidays leaving Harry and Ron the whole dorm. "Hermione you're not supposed to be in here!"

"As if you care about that? Merry Christmas to you, too! To both of you." She began to open her parcels.

Harry was opening his and found a bottle cap with the a note saying "_If possible, don't come back this summer._" He read it, not expecting anything better from the Dursleys. His other presents were much nicer. From Mrs. Weasley he got his yearly Weasley sweater, this year an inky green, and a box of her delicious meat pies. Hermione had given him a box of Honeydukes' new Gingerbread men and Ron had given him sugar quills. Hagrid had sent a Box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a feather. If the feather hadn't come with a note he wouldn't have known what to make of it. The note told him the feather came from Buckbeak and that Hippogriff feathers were good luck. He also got a watch from Sirius and it told not only the time, but the day, month, year, and your current location. All that was left was a small, rectangular package was at the bottom of his pile of presents. It was wrapped in brown paper and it bore a note.

_Harry Potter,_

_ I told you that I would send another hint if you still had not discovered more information about the _Book of Ever_. I am very disappointed in you. Have you even looked at the books you took from the library? I think not. Read the marked pages in this book. They may be of use. In fact, they will._

_Merry Christmas,_

_A Friend of A Friend_

Hermione and Ron had come over to see what was wrong. "Nothing," lied Harry, trying to put the paper away. But in an instant Ron had snatched it. His face turned pale under his freckles. Hermione took the note from Ron and after reading gasped. No one spoke.

"Harry, open the package," whispered Hermione faintly.

He had all but forgotten it. Deftly, as if in a dream Harry opened the package and in it was an old beat up book with a grimy cover. A page was marked with purple ribbon, Harry turned to that page. A note was there. It simply stated that those two pages should be read. Harry looked down at the book and took a deep breath.

The door swung open. "You weren't researching the _Book of Ever_ with out me were you?" Renata stood in the doorway framed in the doorway and casually leaning against it, already dressed and with three large books in her arms. "Merry Christmas, here are those library books you guys took." She threw three large heavy books to the ground. "Hermione you're lucky you and I are the only girls in our dorm here for Christmas otherwise questions could have come up because you were gone." They all read a bit and then read aloud what they found that was of use. " 'The Book of Ever is said to have always been and therefore it was not written it just was. It is said to have come into existence when—' and that's all folks the rest is blotted out with dark ink."

"Let me try." Hermione picked up the next book. " 'No one is sure of what will happen if the Book of Ever undergoes any harm. Some people think—' The rest of the page is torn out," her face horrified that something like that should happen to a library book.

"My turn. 'The Book of Ever is one of the most important magical objects. It is also possibly one of the most dangerous because—' that's all! The words aren't here." And indeed the words simply were not there.

Harry grimaced and took a deep breath as he looked at the book he had received that morning. He began to read, " 'The _Book of Ever _is said to have not been written, but it simply existed and everything is in it. That will ever be. It is said to have come into being with the birth of the first Phoenix. Because of this many people fear the final death of the last Phoenix will be the end of the book. No one is quite sure what will happen when there are no Phoenixes left. Some speculate the end of the world. Others have more optimistic outlooks. Some of the optimists feel the world will be cleansed. No one is certain. The Book is considered dangerous because if you write in it you may be changing the natural course of the world, either past, present, or future.' "

"We better go downstairs or everyone will wonder where we all are. We can talk about the _Book _later." Harry and Ron looked out into the common room it was deserted. The four of them all left the room. If Hermione and Renata had been seen there would have been trouble. Trouble they would rather not risk. They had just reached the chairs in the common room when Fred and George came in a few minutes later the twins were laughing hysterically. "We just locked Filch in a closet!"

"What?"

"Yeah, Perce isn't around right now so we had to do something to entertain ourselves."

"We let off a Dungbomb and then when he went to get something to clean it up with we locked the door."

"Come on George, let's go see if Lee is done bewitching those snowballs to follow Dumbledore around."

"Later guys! See you for the snowball fight." Still laughing the twins left.

"Ron, didn't they already use bewitched snowballs?"

"Yeah, a few years ago. They must be losing their touch." Just then Ginny came down the stairs.

"Merry Christmas!"

Harry and Ron said hi and then went back upstairs to get out of their pajamas. Then they joined the others in the common room. "Let's go eat." They went down to breakfast. Fred and George were already there, sniggering. Harry looked up. There were six snowballs, dancing around the Headmaster's head. After eating Harry, went outside to have a snowball fight with Ron and the Weasley twins. About a half an hour later Ginny, Hermione, and Renata came out to see how the fight was going. Harry and Ron were losing because snowballs kept coming up at them from behind and hitting them just as they were throwing. Harry suddenly remembered the snowball speeding up potion he had bought in Diagon Ally and he summoned it from his room.

Adding the potion did help even the odds a bit. The girls watched for a few minutes and then Ginny joined Fred and George and Hermione and Renata teamed up with Ron and Harry. Turned out both of them were very good at throwing; especially Renata. By the time the fight was over everyone was cold, wet, and tired and there was just enough time to clean up before the Christmas tea. They went into the Great Hall where all the decorations were up; there were at least a dozen trees covered in decorations, there were party crackers at every place setting. Dumbledore had already pulled a cracker and switched his wizard hat for the baseball cap that came out of the cracker. Harry didn't open his until he was done with his rice pudding and when he did a bouquet of yellow daisies came out of the first one, which he then traded with a second year girl he didn't know for a bottle of ink that changed color depending on your mood When the second cracker opened with bang like a cannon going off he got a tiny working model of the Hogwarts Express. By the time everyone was done they were all tired.

When they all stood up to leave. Dumbledore stood up for a last announcement. "Tonight we shall hold a soccer game in the Quidditch stadium. For those of you who do not know, soccer is a Muggle sport. If you wish to play be at the field at 8 o'clock. The rules will be explained there."

Harry and Ron got up. On the way back to the Tower they stopped at the kitchens to say Merry Christmas to Dobby and Winky. They were two of the house-elves. Harry gave Dobby a pair of socks, not matching of course; Dobby didn't think they were supposed to match. One sock was yellow with pink polka-dots and the other was green with orange stripes. Dobby was very pleased and gave Harry a hat he made himself, it was covered broomsticks so that it would match one of the socks Dobby gave him last year. Harry and Ron said goodbye. "Do you reckon we should play?"

"The soccer game? Why not?"

"It's not too hard is it?"

"You never played? It's not too difficult. I had to play it in gym when I went too school with the Muggles." They went back to Gryffindor Tower.

The first thing Harry heard when he went in was, "Hiya Harry! Hiya Harry!"

"Hullo Colin, hullo Dennis." Colin and Dennis Creevy were a fourth year and a second year both of who seemed to idolize Harry. Nothing seemed to give them more pleasure than saying "Hiya Harry" hearing him reply, no matter how exasperated he sounded.

"Harry! Harry! Are you gonna play soccer tonight, Harry? We will! It's so much fun. Back home we used to play all the time. Bye'ya Harry we're going down to see what the teams are!" The two left.

"Let's ask who else is playing, Ron."

It turned out that both Renata and Hermione were playing. So were most of the people staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, no one really had anything better to do after all. When it was almost eight they all headed down to the Quidditch stadium. Dumbledore was waiting and he was holding a black and white ball the size of a Quaffle in his hands. When everyone was there he began to speak. "The teams will be Gryffindor and Hufflepuff against Slytherin and Ravenclaw. The heads of the houses may also participate and play for their teams. Madam Hooch shall be the referee. Here are the rules." He went into an explanation of the basic rules. "Begin!" He conjured a large, purple, overstuffed chair and sat down. While he had been speaking the teachers had been handing out scarlet and canary yellow jerseys to the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff team. At the same time green and blue jerseys were handed out to the Slytherin/Ravenclaw team. Harry and Ron had barely put their jerseys on over their robes when they realized that their team had the ball. The game went on fairly smoothly. Professor McGonagall actually turned out to be quite a good goalie. There were only two minutes left in the second half when Ron nudged Harry and nodded to where a blonde figure was swaggering across the field and kicking the ball. Harry hadn't realized that Draco Malfoy was staying for at Hogwarts for the holidays and in his moment of shock the ball hit him in the chest.

He fell over and hit the ground with a smack. It was a moment before anyone realized what had happened and in the moment someone on the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff team scored the winning goal. Meanwhile someone finally noticed Harry lying on the ground, breathing hard. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was standing at the edge of the field and suddenly noticed him. She conjured a stretcher beside her and bustled over to where Harry was. "What happened?"

Harry was still trying to catch his breath because breathing was still coming hard. "The soccer ball…got me real hard…in the chest…and knocked…me over." His head was spinning. After that he couldn't remember much of anything. When Harry woke up everything was blurry. They must have taken his glasses. His head was still sore. He tried to sit up and he couldn't quite manage it. Harry moved his arm to find his glasses and it was stopped by a hand.

"Harry, you're not ready do get up yet. Put your arm down and go back to sleep."

"Yes, Professor Delano. Why are you here?"

"Professor Dumbledore wanted someone to be here when you woke up and he had somewhere he needed be and so he asked me to wait until he returned. Now go back to sleep. You suffered a minor concussion and some cracked ribs. You hit the ground awfully hard. Madam Pomfrey mended you ribs but you'll still be sore for a day or so and both she and the Headmaster wants you to get some rest. Go to sleep," She opened a book that had been on her lap. Harry just glimpsed the title _The Fellowship of the Ring_, before he fell asleep.

* * *

When Harry woke up again. His head didn't hurt quite so much but he was still a little dizzy and sore. He still couldn't see very well without his glasses but when he went to reach for them no one stopped him. It wasn't long after Harry put the glasses on his head that Madam Pomfrey came to his bed carrying a tray of food. "The Headmaster wants you to spend tonight here in the hospital wing and rest. He may want you to spend tomorrow here as well."

"If Ron or Hermione comes, you will let them in, right?"

"Yes. In the Christmas spirit Professor Dumbledore insisted that if any visitors came when you were awake they should be allowed to see you. Both of them were here just after you were brought in but they were told they could come back later, and I am sure they will."

"Thank you." Madam Pomfrey left and Harry began to eat, feeling lonely. He wasn't really hungry but he didn't feel up to arguing. It was Christmas and he was stuck in the hospital wing. It wasn't until a half an hour after Harry had finished eating that Ron and Hermione came. Renata was there too.

"We wanted to come earlier, but Dumbledore said we had to wait."

Harry struggled to sit up.

"Don't bother sitting up, Harry. We can't stay long and sitting up will make you dizzier," Renata told him.

He lay back down the rest of the way and said, "I didn't even know that Malfoy was staying for the holidays."

"No one else did either," said Ron earnestly. "After you were brought up here Dumbledore was questioning Malfoy. Asking why he hadn't signed up to stay when the lists were coming around. And he asked whether or not he hit you on purpose. He said no but I don't believe him, I don't know whether or not Dumbledore believes him. I hope not. Do you feel okay? That was a bad fall."

"They said it was a concussion and cracked ribs. I've got stay here tonight and at least part of tomorrow."

"That sounds like a fun way to spend Christmas."

"Yeah," Harry sighed.

Renata took something out of her pocket. "This was written by a Muggle but I really think you'll like it. Borrow it. At least it'll pass time while your stuck here." She placed _The Hobbit_ by J. R. R. Tolkien on the table beside the bed. "I have to go see my mom. Bye, Harry."

"We have to go too, Harry."

"We'll see you tomorrow. Read, it'll keep you busy for a while."

"Bye then," Harry said. Then as he still felt it to be too early to go to sleep yet Harry opened the book and began to read. It was an hour and a half later when Harry was just ending a chapter called _Riddles in the Dark_ he received another visitor.

"Hello Harry. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine Professor Dumbledore."

"No snakes tonight I hope?"

"No. Did you get the letter I left on your desk?"

"Yes, I did. Three snakes now. Do you know whether or not young Malfoy purposely hit the soccer ball at you?"

"Well, as we weren't on the same team and there weren't any Slytherins near me and as Malfoy and I don't get along well I think it was on purpose." It was a serious understatement; Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter loathed each other. He and Malfoy regarded each other as the scum of the earth.

"I thought so. When I asked why Mister Malfoy hadn't signed up to stay he claimed that something had suddenly come up and his father could not pick him up at the station. He will be sent home tomorrow, one of his relatives will come for him. I suggest you rest here tonight and in the morning you shall be released to the rest of the castle. Remember this, Harry, I said the castle; I want you on the grounds as seldom as possible and I'd prefer if you don't leave them. I'm only saying this because you have a tendency to do so and I am concerned for your safety." Professor Dumbledore stood to leave.

"Wait, why exactly is it that I am always the assumed target?" Harry asked. He was very frustrated with the whole business. He didn't much care for being a possible murder target.

"Because you are, Harry; because you _are_ you. It is not easy to decipher the minds of others but for some reason it is you that Voldemort wants dead. I realize that his attempts to seek revenge and regain power by killing you seem quite tiring on your part and I agree but there isn't anything you could just say or do to change things. The change will come in its own time, all we can do is nudge it along. Goodnight."

"Goodbye, Professor." Harry began to read once more. It was quite late when Madam Pomfrey came in, found him still reading, and turned off the light. Harry was not happy about this because he only had four chapters left, but he was tired so he let sleep take him. In the morning he had breakfast and Madam Pomfrey checked that the last of Harry's bones were mended and then she let him leave.

Harry stopped by the Great Hall but left when he didn't see Ron or Hermione. He went up to Gryffindor Tower. Once there, Harry found Renata deeply immersed in quiet conversation with Ron and Hermione. As Harry approached he realized they were discussing the _Book of Ever_. "It just cannot be coincidence that the information was deliberately missing from three books."

"Of course not. But the questions are who and why. There is always a reason. We just have to find it."

"Yeah and that is going to be the trick. How do we figure this out?"

Harry sat down. "Do you think we could find a list of all the people who checked out these books? Or would it be too suspicious?"

"But what if it wasn't someone who checked out the books?" Renata asked thoughtfully.

"I don't follow you."

"What if, it was a Headmaster?"

"Not Dumbledore. He doesn't seem to want to limit us, not even when the Ministry tells him to."

"Well what about the past Headmasters? If we know when the book was put in the library we can find out who was Headmaster, or Headmistress, at the time and then we could figure it out!"

"There are portraits of all of them in Dumbledore's office. But I know we are forgetting something," Harry said frowning.

"What?"

"I'm not sure, I'll have to think on it some more," Harry said kneading his forehead.

"So did you find out about Malfoy?"

"Yeah. Dumbledore is pretty sure he did it on purpose. In any case he's being sent home today."

"Too bad he isn't getting expelled."

"Yeah. Well how are we supposed to ask about when the books came without seemingly like we're up to something?"

"Personally I think Hermione should ask. It would be more plausible for her than any of the rest of us."

"I'll do it, but what excuse could I use?" asked Hermione dubiously.

"Anything you can think of. You're researching something or other and so you need to know how recent the books are or some such thing."

"I suppose."

"We should probably wait until term starts again because then more people will be using the library and we'll be more likely to go without being specifically noted for being there."

"Sounds right."

"Then I guess for now we've got it figured out." With nothing else to do the group broke up. Hermione and Renata went off somewhere and Ron and Harry sat in the armchairs by the fire plotting ways to get Malfoy expelled. It was fun to do, even if it was pointless. The rest of the day passed calmly. That night when Harry couldn't sleep he took out _The Hobbit_ and began to read the last few chapters. He had never really enjoyed reading but this was a good book. He had just finished and was about to go up to bed when he fell asleep.

The next thing Harry knew was that he was being watched. He was awake but had not opened his eyes and he could feel someone looking at him. Then he heard a sneeze and opened his eyes and turned around. The Creevy brothers were in another armchair staring at him, fascinated.

"Morning!" They chirped brightly. "Hiya Harry."

"Hullo." Rubbing they arm that had gone numb with the way he had been laying on it Harry went to the dormitory to see if he could catch a few more hours sleep.

Ron woke up as Harry came in. "Where were you?"

"I fell asleep in an armchair by the fire."

"Were you _reading_?" Ron asked disbelievingly seeing the book in Harry's hand.

"Yeah. I was reading last night after you left and I just wanted to finish it before returning it."

"Reading." He shook his head. "You'll turn into Hermione if you don't watch out."

"Nah. That would never happen." Harry climbed into bed for a few more hours of sleep. Ron pulled the blankets off.

"No way. You woke me up, let's go eat."

"I'm tired."

"Too bad." They both spent the rest of the vacation in great spirits. Which was of course wonderful because they knew that when term started again there would be a lot of work to do. Everyone came back the day before term started.


	10. An Unknown Guest

This was my first attempt at FanFiction, and was completed well before Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was published. There are some similarities, but I swear they are purely coincidental. I'm re-uploading because there were problems with several chapters. 

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, things, or places you recognize from the Potter-verse.

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**CHAPTER TEN: **An Unknown Guest

Harry was falling asleep in his Divination class when he became aware of two large, insect-like eyes staring at him in irritation. "Please do me the kindness of remaining awake during my lesson." Professor Trelawny began to walk around the room and she stood in front of the winged chair that she usually sat at. "I was saying that we will be spending most of this term working with mind reading. A most fascinating but difficult thing the human mind is. So we shall begin. You there," Professor Trelawny pointed to Ron. "You are thinking about how fascinating this all is and wondering if you'll pass the exam."

Ron whispered to Harry, "No, I was thinking about lunch." They stifled their laughter behind their hands.

Professor Trelawny began to speak again this time she directed her speech at Harry, "You, my poor boy are distraught over the attempts to take your life. I would be too of course."

Harry turned to Ron, "Actually I was trying to decide whether jumping from the window over there and breaking my neck would be worth getting out of this class. I think it would."

Professor Trelawny began to discuss the different methods of mind reading. She also discussed the rules of privacy regarding ones own thoughts and the only times when it was appropriate to read another's thoughts. She then gave out the homework. They were to try a mind reading method on one of their classmates and write about how accurate you were in discovering what they were thinking and describe what method they used.

Harry thought the whole thing was stupid, but he and Ron had to pay at least some attention because Hermione did not take that class and wouldn't be able to help them when they didn't know the assignment. The class ended and the day went on. After Quidditch practice Harry went back to the castle to do his Divination homework with Ron. Hermione was with Renata doing the Arithmacy homework Professor Vector had assigned them.

"Okay you go first."

Harry opened _A Clairvoyant's Guide to Knowing All _to reread how to read minds. "Okay it says that you have to try and clear your mind. Only leave a couple thoughts in there so I don't get confused. Now I am supposed to close my eyes so I can block out everything but you. I have to point my wand at your head and say this spell."

"Don't mess up! I really don't want to end up a tree or something sticking out of my head."

"Okay," Harry read the spell silently once to be sure of the words, then he closed his eyes, pointed his wand and began to recite. It was as if he was listening to a radio, but the only thing Harry heard was Ron's own voice. It seemed as though he was speaking to Harry but also as if an undercurrent of thought was running through it. _Harry,_ said the voice, _This is so stupid. When are we ever expected to use this? Okay, concentrate, hey I wonder if this is how mum knows when Fred and George are up to something. _The voice then became quiet and it was speaking as it were, very slowly as if it hadn't meant to and that undercurrent of thought just came on its own._ Hermione looks sorta nice with her hair down, I can't figure out where Malfoy gets all those insults about her looks. _Harry broke the mind connection, it wasn't right to keep listening, he obviously hadn't been meant to hear _that_. He knew he wouldn't want Ron to hear him think anything of the sort.

"So?" Ron asked.

"I don't think that's how your mum knows what Fred and George are up to. She never recited a spell like this around them right?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. My turn." Ron followed the same procedure as Harry had done. "You really liked that book Renata let you borrow?"

Harry had been concentrating on the book to keep from allowing anything to slip out of his head unbidden. Unfortunately Harry had concentrated so hard on the book he forgot to not think about who gave it to him. "It wasn't bad."

"What are hobbits?"

"I don't think they really exist. But according to the author they are fat little people about 2-4 feet tall who like to eat about six times a day. But the hobbit that the story is about actually ends up escaping from trolls and facing a dragon. Not all the details on the creatures were accurate but it was written by a Muggle so I can't be too picky."

"I guess we should start the writing." Ron frowned. "She is really asking for it to be too long."

Harry was glad that Ron hadn't seemed to pick up on anything when he was reading his mind. He didn't say a word about what he heard Ron think about Hermione. The rest of the week passed quite normally. That is until Thursday's History of Magic class. The ghost of Professor Binns entered through the blackboard as usual and began to speak with the class dutifully taking down notes. They were all halfway through the lesson when Hermione noticed something. She whispered to the others, "He's talking about the history broom making and flight!" She was right.

Professor Binns spoke on, "As early as the year 962 wizards and witches in Europe were flying…" He droned on unknowing that the class was actually paying attention for once; the last time that had happened was when rumors of the Chamber of Secrets began to float around in their second year and Hermione had raised her hand to question the legend of the Chamber. Now, with quite a few Quidditch fans in the room the students listened eagerly and were almost sorry when the class ended. The reason they were almost sorry instead of sorry was because of the large amount of homework the ghost bestowed upon them.

That night in the common room, Harry, exhausted from Quidditch practice, sat starring into the fire. The red and yellow flames seemed almost scarlet and gold. He sat up abruptly and went to where Ron was receiving help from Hermione on their Transfiguration homework. "I know what was missing!" He whispered excitedly. "Remember I thought we were forgetting something when we were thinking about the Book of Ever? They don't know what will happen when the last Phoenix dies. Not the reborn from the ashes stuff but the actual final death."

"Harry, I don't see where you're going with this."

"How many Phoenixes are left?"

Hermione thought a moment, "We can't really know, there are only maybe one or two domesticated Phoenixes around right now. They others are all on magical reservations."

"This will take research. I'm going to the library tomorrow to check." After saying that he brought out his Transfiguration homework and began to struggle through it.

When they went up to the dormitory Ron looked out the window down to the grounds. "Harry, is it just me? Or is smoke coming from...?"

"The forest." Indeed, it seemed that there was a spiral of smoke rising from the forest near its edge. Harry peered down to where Hagrid's hut was. A light was on and the large shape of Hagrid was moving within.

"Who started the fire?"

"I don't know. It wasn't Hagrid. And it wasn't any of the creatures that live there. Who was it?"

"The campfire."

"What?" Harry asked, completely confused.

"In the beginning of the first term we chased Hagrid's dragon into there and we saw a campfire. Whoever it was must still be down there."

A chill went down Harry's spine. What sort of people hide out in a forest that was full of dangerous creatures? Not pleasant people, that was for sure. "Let's go back to the Common Room. There is a window with a better view." They went back down the spiral staircase to the Common Room. Hermione was still putting the finishing touches on some more homework.

"I thought you two went to bed already."

"Come see the window."

"There's smoke coming from the forest."

"Wait, what's this all about?"

"That's what we'd like to know." They told her of their theory about the campfire being the cause.

"But it still doesn't make sense. Why would someone set a fire to the forest like that?"

"I don't know."

"Well, what do we do? We can't just let the forest keep burning."

"I'm going down to check it out."

"Harry—"

"I'll take the cloak, they won't catch me." Harry went back to the dorm where Neville was snoring. He opened the trunk at the end of his bed as quietly as he could. But he wasn't quiet enough. There was sufficient enough noise to wake Neville and cause him to pull open the hangings around his bed.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, Neville."

"You better not be trying to sneak out. Whenever you do that you get caught and Gryffindor loses points."

"I was just getting out some books."

"I don't believe you. You're going to get in trouble."

"Listen, Neville, look out the window the forest is on fire. I'm just going to go let a teacher know."

Neville went to the window. "It is! I see smoke."

"See? I was just getting out a cloak so that I wouldn't be cold in the corridor." Harry innocently lifted his plain black cloak; unbeknownst to Neville, Harry was holding the Invisibility Cloak inside of it.

"I guess so. But don't get in trouble, Harry."

"I won't." Harry got up and left just as Seamus and Dean came up, fortunately they didn't say anything to him. Harry went to Ron and Hermione. "Neville didn't trust me. He thinks I'm about to go get in trouble. I told him I was going to talk to a teacher. Bye."

"Wait just a minute!" Ron said.

Harry turned, "Huh?"

"You honestly think we'd let you go without us?" Hermione asked.

"You got the cloak?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go. No point in waiting." The three went to the portrait hole and left. The Fat Lady called that they had better get back soon; she didn't want them breaking her up when they came back. As soon as they rounded the corner and couldn't be seen anymore by the Fat Lady they slipped the Invisibility cloak around themselves and vanished. They had almost reached the entrance hall when they nearly ran into Professor Snape. They were still solid even if they weren't visible. In his hand Snape clutched a potion vial. Harry turned to follow him but Ron and Hermione grabbed his arms. They continued across the hall and exited through the doors. The three moved as fast as they could across the grounds, the smoke seemed to have grown. They would have taken the cloak off but they didn't want to be seen by Hagrid. At the edge of the forest they stood a moment, then went in. The three followed the trail until they came to the first bend. After that they went a little less cautiously, but just as slowly because they felt it safer not to be heard or seen. They came to the place where the campfire had been and indeed they saw a blazing fire there. And there were two figures seated around it.

In surprise Hermione could not prevent her outburst, "Renata!"

"Who's there? If its you guys in that cloak you better come out."

They said nothing.

"Hermione I recognized your voice, come on."

The three under the cloak stepped out and came to the edge of the fire's light. "We want some answers."

"Like what?" Renata asked in a cheerful manner.

"Like what you're doing here for instance, who _she_ is, and why there's so much smoke from the fire. We could see it from the castle."

"Of course you could. That was the point. I'd like you to meet your friend of a friend." She smiled. "Meet Vanessa. I'm sure you recognize her from when we saw her at the Three Broomsticks? She works at the Leaky Cauldron and she's been sending those 'friend of a friend' letters, with some inside help of course."

Vanessa, who looked to be around twenty or so spoke, "Hi, I'm Vanessa. I met Renata at the Leaky Cauldron. Tom there is my uncle. Poor Uncle Tommy, he hasn't been feeling too great."

"We stayed at the Leaky Cauldron, we never saw you there."

"You were only there for a few nights. Renata and her mom stayed for three weeks. I've come here a few times to help with research."

"On what? Giant spiders? Centaurs?"

"No that Book. Renata and I sent the 'Friend of a Friend' letters. And by the way, Fawkes is the only domesticated Phoenix left. The other one belonged to a friend of Dumbledore, Kennilworthy Whisp. Also—"

"I've heard of him, he wrote _Quidditch Through the Ages._"

"I checked up on him. Close friend of Dumbledore's, Quidditch fanatic, owned a Phoenix, disappeared two months ago. All they found was that Firebolt was dead, that was the Phoenix's name. When the Firebolt broom came out Whisp changed his bird's name after one of its fire deaths. Anyway there weren't many clues. His Phoenix was killed. Whisp had a cat too. It seemed to have been killed with a curse. I'm sure you all know which one."

"What about Whisp?"

"Whisp wasn't found. But there was an open Vortex in the attic. Opening them is pretty standard. But operating them is tricking and you have to close it when you're done or there could be trouble."

"How long was it before the Ministry found him?"

"They didn't. September 4, I think it was, a friend of his came for a visit and as soon as he saw how everything was he notified Dumbledore."

"The fourth…that was the day when I left that note in Dumbledore's office because he wasn't there. Vanessa, a friend told us that your uncle has gone missing twice since we were there."

"Yeah, well he had places to be." She seemed reluctant to say more.

"Shouldn't we go back to the castle?"

"You can go but I'm staying. Lavender and Parvati will never know I'm gone."

"And how is that?"

"I copied myself. There is a duplicate image of myself laying in our dorm at this very moment. All it does is roll over and 'I'm tired' if you poke it. They'll never notice when I come in. But I'll be up soon. I need to look something up tomorrow in the library. After class of course."

"What is it? Maybe I've already read it," Hermione asked.

"Its just a project I'm doing."

"What about the teachers? Someone will see you going back to the tower. We ran into Snape on the way here. The only reason we didn't get detention was because we were wearing my Invisibility cloak."

"I can take care of myself. Just trust me on this, I won't get caught."

"Well, be sure that you don't. We wouldn't want Gryffindor to lose any points."

"I can avoid being seen if I wish so," Renata told them.

"That sounds familiar," Harry said. He got up and left with Hermione and Ron. He turned for a backwards glance, "Put out the fire or at least get rid of the smoke, will you? We weren't the only ones who could see it." They put the cloak on and made their way back to the castle.

When they got back to the common room. The first thing Hermione did was rush up the girls' staircase. She returned soon after. "That replica looks really good. Something like that is highly advanced magic." The three stayed up late into the night talking about what Renata and the other girl had said. Hermione went upstairs, as did Ron and Harry. Neville was still awake waiting for them, "You didn't go to the teachers. You were outside."

"I know Neville but we had to be down there," Ron said.

"You aren't careful, ever." Neville was stuttering now. "You're going t-to end up like y-your parents, Harry. Or maybe like mine." Fear was in Neville's face and his voice.

"What do you mean Neville?" Ron asked. Neville who seemed about to burst into tears merely shook his head and went to lie back down. Harry just went to bed. He knew why Neville lived with his grandmother. Neville didn't know he knew, but all the same he knew. Feeling awful, Neville had never mentioned his parents, Harry fell asleep.

In potions the next day, Professor Snape seemed to be in an extremely foul temper. "Weasley, if I see you talking again its detention!" He spat. "Potter, that potion is too thick, add another leech."

Harry muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Sure, you git."

"Potter! Ten points from Gryffindor." By the end of the lesson most of the class seemed to catch Snape's bad mood.

"I bet it's got something to do with that potion he was carrying last night," said Harry as they walked down the corridor. "I wish we could have followed him!"

After ten minutes, Renata, who had remained as cheerful as usual, pulled aside Ron, Harry, and Hermione and preformed cheering charms. "Much better." The rest of the day passed much better, even after the cheering charms wore off. They didn't receive much homework, except from Snape, and then Quidditch practice really helped take Harry's mind off things, he was trying to practice even though it was muddy and raining. It wasn't too hard though; Oliver Wood had forced them to practice in worse weather. It did for the most part help at least. Also Harry wanted the team to get as much practice as possible, Gryffindor had another Quidditch match the next day. Harry was sure they would do fine, but he kept the team for a long practice anyway.

Harry couldn't sleep that night. He was not quite sure why. He spent a while pacing in the dorm, then Seamus threw a pillow at him and told him to go to the common room so he wouldn't keeping disturbing all of them. So now he was pacing in the common room. Hufflepuff played fair, he wasn't worried about any foul play on their part. But he knew something was not right. At last Harry sat in front of the fire. In mere hours he would have another match. Harry knew that for someone to attack him while he was playing Quidditch they didn't have to be playing. They could curse him from the stands; but it did take very powerful dark magic to interfere with a broom. Eventually, full of exhaustion Harry fell asleep, sprawled on the chair.

Harry awoke with someone kicking him. He looked up and heard Ron, "You have to stop falling asleep like this."

Harry righted himself and sat up, "Seamus kicked me out because I was pacing around the dormitory for so long."

Ron just looked at Harry. "Come on, you have to go upstairs and change, you have a Quidditch match to win."

"Yeah." He rubbed his neck then turned to Ron. "Something is going to go wrong at the match."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know yet."

"It's just pre-match nerves," Ron reassured him.

On his way down from the castle he looked to the sky, which was full of dark clouds. Down in the locker room, Harry was feeling a bit better but he still felt something was wrong. He looked around. "Where's Fred?"

"He can't play. He slipped in the mud yesterday and blew out his knee. Madam Pomfrey is fixing it but she won't let him leave."

George frowned. "Yeah, she said he can't play for a week."

"Do we have a reserve Beater?"

"No, we don't."

Renata spoke up, grinning. "Look, we've got a spare Keeper. I'll play in Fred's place and put another person in the Keeper spot. I can handle it as a Beater." With no better solutions at hand, Fred's bat was handed to Renata and the team marched onto the field.

Harry asked, "So, you're not only a Keeper and a Chaser, but you're a Beater, too?"

She grinned, "And a Keeper. I've been playing Quidditch for a long time."

It was raining now slow, heavy drops. Hermione and Ron were just outside the locker room. Hermione took Harry's glasses and pointed her wand at them, saying "Impervious." She smiled at Harry and he was almost sure Ron scowled when she did. "Looks like they might need to repel water today." She and Ron wished him good luck and rushed off to the stands.

Harry and the team went to where Madam Hooch and the Hufflepuff team were standing. Harry shook hands with the Hufflepuff captain, Ernie Macmillan.

"Mount your brooms. On my whistle…" Madam Hooch blew her whistle and she, as well as seven people in scarlet robes as well as seven in canary yellow rose into the air.

Lee began his commentary, "Once again Gryffindor has a missing player. One of the Gryffindor Beaters, Fred Weasley, has a injured his knee and so playing for him will be—wait what's the Keeper doing with a bat? Professor! Is that legal?" He talked to Professor McGonagall a moment. "Okay folks, the Gryffindor Keeper Renata Delano is playing for Fred Weasley as Beater and the reserve Keeper Alec Freeman shall play as Keeper. On the other hand the Hufflepuff team appears to be present in full. Hufflepuff in possession, looks like Chaser Justin Finch-Fletchley attempts to score and a Bludger is pelted at him by Renata Delano. Finch-Fletchley drops the Quaffle and it is picked up by Alicia Spinnet who scores a spectacular goal! Ten points to Gryffindor and the game resumes. A Bludger nearly hits Katie Bell but is quickly hit at Ernie Macmillan by Renata Delano. Apparently she is multitalented, as she not only seems to be able to play as a great Chaser, but a very good Beater as well. One question though: Are we ever going to see her play as Keeper? Oh! Nice shot, George!"

Harry, who had been watching the game with interest now turned back to the task of hunting for the Snitch. Harry however didn't yet see it. What he did see however was a large, black dog. But about nearly twenty feet above the dog's head was…

"And the game is over! Gryffindor wins! Two hundred ten points to thirty points. And that my friends is, the match." Lee began cheering with the rest of the Gryffindors.

Harry went to land by the dog but it was gone. Where had Sirius gone so fast? The stands emptied and the fans flooded the field. In almost no time Harry was on his way to Hagrid's hut with Ron, Hermione and Renata.

"How was the match? I was watching it from me hut bu' you know it jus' isn' the same as being there to watch it, yeh know."

"It was great," Renata beamed.

"You've still got the bat in your hand," Ron pointed out.

"I know," she said stroking the bat once or twice and still smiling. "I'll return it later. Playing another position is really refreshing." She said this and took a sip of the tea Hagrid had made. "You don't get to use that much aggression when you play Keeper. Although I'm still waiting to do that, you know. Would you mind telling the rest of the team to all be healthy for our last match? I have not even had one match to play as Keeper. At least, not here."

"We've still got another match this year."

"You are right, Harry, but question: Will I play every position except mine this year? Or am I going to miss out on playing as Seeker?"

Harry looked at her. "Nothing, will keep me from the playing the last match this year. The only other time I_ ever_ missed a match was when I was unconscious during the last match in my first year."

By the time the four of them left Hagrid's it had stopped raining. "So is your friend still hiding out in the forest?"

"Oh, her? She left. Vanessa had to go back to the Leaky Cauldron." With a sour face she looked at the three of them. "Spoil sports." She laughed. "Lighten up."

Back in the Tower, Hermione was looking at Ron and Harry's Divination assignments over their shoulders they were still working on mind reading. "I can't believe she is having you work on mind reading! That is invading someone's private thoughts."

"Hermione, we tell each other when we're going to practice and that way we can clear our minds of anything we don't want heard."

"Its not too hard. You just have to focus. I was thinking about a book someone loaned me."

Renata came over and sat down on the arm of the chair reading over Harry's shoulder. "Oh yes, a book which you still haven't given back by the way."

Harry felt himself go red. "I'll go get it now." He went up to the dormitory to get the book out of the little table by his bed. He went back down to the common room and tossed it to Renata. "Here."

"Thank you. Do you want the next book? My mom should be done reading it by now."

"No, thanks," Harry shuffled off out into the corridor. Behind him he heard Renata speaking to Ron and Hermione.

"I think I'm going to go talk to my mom. I'll be back in a bit." She followed Harry out of the portrait.

"I'm getting that book back from my mom. Do you want to come? Just in case I get lost? This castle is still confusing." Harry shrugged, he doubted she'd get lost and she knew she wouldn't get lost but he went anyway. He wanted that book. He followed her to the study occupied by the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year. Renata did not knock on the door, she just went inside.

Harry had visited the office under three of its past occupants and it had been different each time. In Professor Lockhart's time as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor it had been covered with pictures of Professor Lockhart. With Professor Lupin there was often a cage containing whatever dark creature the class would be studying. Last year, with the supposed Professor Moody, the room had been full of dark detectors. These included a Foe-Glass and a large, magical, seven compartment trunk.

Presently the room was littered with parchment and number of books. Some of the books were ordinary Muggle books such as the one Renata picked up.

"This is the next one in the series. Do you want it? Otherwise I'll read it again."

Rather grudgingly Harry answered, "Okay." He took the book. "But don't tell Ron, I don't want him to think I'm becoming a bookworm."

"Sure. I'm going to leave a note saying I took the next two books. The one you've got there and the one I'm taking. That way she still has time to read the last one." When Renata was done she started toward the door. "Aren't you coming?" Harry was reading the book. "Come on. You can read later I want to go back to the common room."

"Wait, one more page."

Three pages later, Renata took the book away and grabbed his arm, pulling him out the door. "You can have the book back when we get to the common room. Trust me, if you're reading while you're walking you'll get hurt. I've gotten nasty bruises from crashing into things when reading." They were almost at the portrait of the Fat Lady when they heard a drawling voice behind them.

"Got a new girlfriend, Potter? Guess that Weasley girl is heart broken. Though I can't imagine why she should be."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry sad rather annoyed.

"Who's going to make me?"

"I will. Harry, do you like ferrets, rabbits, squirrels, or cats? I think blonde ferrets are awfully nice." She took out her wand.

"You wouldn't and you can't," Malfoy sounded slightly alarmed at possibly becoming a ferret again. Professor Moody had transfigured him into a ferret to teach him a lesson and he had been bounced up and down like a basketball.

"Watch me." She lifted her wand. And whispered to Harry, "As soon as I'm done, petrify him."

"Got it."

Malfoy began to run, but not fast enough. Renata recited a spell and suddenly there was a very scared looking ferret in the hallway.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" And quite suddenly the white ferret was frozen on the ground. Harry walked over and picked it up, "Do you want to change him back now or take him to Gryffindor Tower?"

"I think we should show him to Ron and Hermione before changing him back. He'll remember not to mess with me. Let's go see them." They walked the remainder of the way to the Tower. Renata tossed the petrified ferret into the air a few times, for good measure.

Back in Gryffindor Tower they showed Malfoy to Ron and Hermione. "Say hello to Malfoy."

Hermione was shocked. "You didn't…"

"Not me, it was Renata, I just petrified him."

Ron was laughing, "I never thought I'd see him like this again. Where's a camera when you need one?"

"Right upstairs. I've got one in the room, be right back." Renata headed to the staircase.

Harry released Malfoy from the petrifaction spell and watched him squirm as he held him upside by his tail for a few seconds. Malfoy tried to bite him so he petrified him again.

"Were Crabbe and Goyle with him?" asked Hermione.

"No. Oddly enough, they weren't."

"That is strange."

"I've got the camera." Renata took a picture and then she and Harry went back to the corridor where they had changed Malfoy and they put him to rights. "Buh-bye now! And don't come back," hollered Renata, laughing her head off.

"Very impressive, but I do not want to see that again." A voice behind them spoke. "Magic is not to be used against another student. Are we clear?"

They turned to see Professor Dumbledore looking at them both. "Professor Dumbledore…"

"I'll let you both off with warnings and not detention. But I must say I have to take 20 points from Gryffindor because you both attacked another student. Yes, I am aware that he was being provocative but all the same you may not attack the other students; it is a very serious offense and it will not be tolerated. Understand?"

"Yes Professor." Harry was glad that it had been Dumbledore who found them and not Snape or McGonagall.

"Come on let's get back to the Tower. I want to find out how to develop that picture I took."

"And copy it. Plenty of Gryffindors will want copies." They went back to the Tower.

"I've got to do my Charms homework. It's impossible you know," Renata said.

"Calling Charms aren't that hard. Look, pick a person in the room, any person."

"Hermione."

"Okay. Look," Harry pointed his wand to a place near by and he spun it three times counter clockwise as he spoke, "_Dico_ _agere greges Hermione Granger._ Just wait now." Less than a minute later Hermione came over to stand in the place Harry had been pointing his wand.

"I got the feeling I was supposed to be over here."

"See, I told you Calling Charms were easy."

Hermione shook her head and left.

"Okay let me try." She pointed her wand between where she and Harry were standing. She began to spin her wand. " _Dico agere greges Ronald Weasley._"

Very quickly Ron came over, "What?"

Renata smiled, "Nothing." As Ron left Renata turned to Harry, "That was fun. Easy homework, all we had to do was learn the charm and know it when Flitwick quizzes us. Piece of cake."

Two weeks later a notice appeared on the bulletin board in the common room. "What is it?"

"Dunno," said Ron, inching his way to the board. "Harry, Hogwarts is now offering two after school clubs: Muggle Appreciation and Medicinal Magic. It's for fifth years and up. Well we have until February 5 to decide which to take."

"We don't have to choose one. It says these are after school clubs."

"I'm not signing up for one."


	11. Visions

February fifth came and went and the club sign-ups remained quite empty. On the tenth they were still quite empty. Because of this Professor McGonagall made an announcement that day at breakfast. "Since so few of you decided to sign up for a club, the choices were Muggle Appreciation or Medicinal Magic, another club choice has been added. It will be a Dueling Class club. If you wish to join any of these clubs and are a fifth year or older you must cast your choice by February 15. Thank you."  
Renata paused, her fork halfway to her mouth, "So which class will you three sign up for? I assume you are all taking the same one?"  
"I dunno yet," Harry splattered ketchup on his eggs. "What will you take?"  
"I'm not sure yet. I could probably do pretty well in Muggle Appreciation. I spent my summers mostly in Muggle places. My mom's dad was a Muggle."  
"I didn't know you had any Muggle relatives," remarked Hermione. "I'm a Muggle-born myself though."  
A loud drawl made them all turn around, "Granger, you and that other Mudblood should not even be here. When that windbag Dumbledore is gone, Father is going to make sure they keep the trash out of here."  
Harry and Ron jumped up. "What did you say Malfoy?"  
"You heard me, Weasly. You too, Potter. Weasly, you'll never be anything. Potter, you had your chance and you blew it."  
Renata stood up. "Malfoy, I turned you into a ferret once, I can do it again."  
Draco took only the slightest of steps back before sneering at them once more. "With a whole table of teachers here? I doubt it."  
Renata leaned forward and whispered, "Or an earthworm perhaps. Squishy. Blind. Having no defense. Helpless and unable to save yourself from being squished under my shoe. How about that? Or there are alternatives."  
Draco looked panic stricken now.  
"The alternative is staying away from us. Got that?"  
His pale face grew paler. "Don't threaten me, you'll pay for these insults."  
"You are nothing but talk, Malfoy. Money and talk. No wits or guts."  
"You're just talk, don't even have money took back it up." He spoke and his words were barely heard.  
"Are you sure?"  
"You and the others are weak and you always have been." He jerked his head at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  
"I wouldn't be too sure of that."  
"Prove it. I bet none of you would go down to the forest at night."  
"I will," Renata said easily.  
Ron and Harry seemed to have regained the ability of speech and said, "Not alone. You can't go to the forest by yourself, we'll come too."  
"Hmmm? You need an escort, Delano? Two of them? How sad."  
"Draco Balthazar Malfoy," Renata said slowly, "If I were you I would quit while I was ahead. But, since in this debate you stupidly kept opening your mouth and you are obviously far behind and not going to redeem yourself, just save yourself at least some embarrassment and go sit back down at your own table. Those henchmen of yours are waiting." Without another word or glance at Malfoy she sat down once more and began to eat her sausage, which had now gone cold. Unfortunately she missed seeing Malfoy turn pink as he stalked off.  
Hermione turned to her, amazed.  
Ron spoke first. "What did you say to Malfoy to make him that upset?"  
"I told him that being turned into a ferret isn't the worst thing. Earthworms are always a nice option too."  
Harry laughed as he asked, "Could you really do that, and is Balthazar really his middle name?"  
"Of course I could, Harry James Potter."  
"Hey, I'm proud to be named after my dad."  
"And why wouldn't you be?" asked Hermione. "After all he was a great wizard. I read about him in some research I was doing. For a time he worked as-"  
"Hiya Harry!"  
Harry turned to see two mouse-haired boys looking at him. "Hullo Colin. Hullo Dennis."  
"So Harry which club are you going to sign up for?" Colin piped.  
"We want to be in the dueling club but we're too young," added Dennis.  
"Er- I don't know yet."  
"Okay, bye Harry! We have to go to class now."  
Harry turned to the others. "I guess we should go too."  
"Yeah," said Ron, standing. "It's a long walk too Divination."  
"See you later Hermione," called Ron.  
Renata and Hermione were already starting to walk away in the direction of where the Arithmacy room was. But Harry called anyway, feeling a bit foolish after. "Bye Hermione. Bye Renata see you in Transfiguration!" He felt as though the whole castle had heard him; though it was only a few people at the Gryffindor table who had.  
On the way to Divination Seamus and Dean gave him the strangest looks. Lavender and Parvati seemed to have a fit of the giggles. By the time Harry and Ron reached the North Tower Harry was in an extremely bad temper.  
"Good morning, class. We shall be starting memories now. You will go into the mind of your partner, choose a memory and you will be inside of it. Has anyone here ever been inside the memory of another?"  
No hands went up.  
Harry had been inside memories before. Once it was Voldemort's, through an enchanted diary. He had been in Dumbledore's memory as well, using a Pensieve. He still did not raise his hand.  
With a disappointed look in her large eyes Professor Trelawny continued speaking. "Well, this will be harder for you then. I shall place you in pairs." She went around the room pairing up students; unfortunately for Harry he was paired with Neville. "Now I want one of you to focus on a memory and the other to read the mind of the one focusing on the memory. Then move your wand in a counter -clockwise circle three times and say pictura memoris."  
Neville looked at Harry, "You can go first." He looked rather like a frightened rabbit, but he closed his eyes.  
  
"All right Neville, clear your mind of most of your thoughts. I'm going to point my wand at your head and say the spell. Are you concentrating?"  
Neville nodded. Harry closed his eyes, pointed his wand, and began to recite. Suddenly he was lost and Neville's voice was in his head. Before he could listen to it he spun his wand three times in a counter-clockwise direction and called again, "Pictura memoris!" Suddenly Harry felt himself being pulled forward. He was in a house that he didn't recognize. He saw several figures in dark robes wearing masks. Death Eaters. They seemed angry, but at the same time they were laughing. He was glad they couldn't see him. He looked over and saw the limp figure of a woman. One of the masked figures raised a wand and shouted "Crucio!"  
The woman's body began to twitch horribly and she screamed until Harry was sure his lungs would burst. Harry heard another sound and turned. A wardrobe door stood slightly ajar and Harry could hear a whimpering sound coming from it. Before he could go investigate, the door across the room opened. And an angry looking man came in. He appeared to be a Ministry official. Several other Ministry officials followed the man into the room. They quickly disarmed the four people in masks and magically bound them taking them out of the room. One of the ministry women remained in the room and she went over to the wardrobe. Harry followed her closely, partly curious because of the noise coming from it, partly because the woman seemed familiar. She opened the door and inside was a small boy no more than a year old. The woman picked him up and muttered, "Poor thing, first his dad is taken now this with his mum." She allowed a solitary tear to trickle down her face.  
One of the Ministry men returned, "Bella?" He saw what she was holding in her arms and sighed. "Even after his destruction he's stilling destroying lives. First the Potter boy, and the other kid, and now this one. Bella, you can Neville to his grandmother's house. With what has happened to Frank and now his mum too, his grandmother is the only one left to take care of him." As he had been speaking medi-wizards had come in and taken the limp woman away.  
"Yes, Toby. I'll see you back at the office." She held the child in her arms a moment longer and then Disapperated with him. Harry felt a small tear in his own eye as he was whirled back into the Divination room, although, he had never really left it. The tear he had felt was still there but he leaned over on his robes and began to inconspicuously wipe his eye while pretending to tie his shoe.  
When his eye was dry he looked at Neville. He whispered, "Do you know what memory I was in?"  
Neville could only nod and say, "Don't say anything to anyone."  
"I won't." Harry had made this same promise to Dumbledore the year before. Harry had found out through Dumbledore's Pensieve about what happened to Neville's parents and since Neville had told none of them he wasn't supposed to say anything about it. He had not been told so vividly, Harry had only known that Neville's parents had been tortured for information on Voldemort's whereabouts after his downfall. Four of Voldemort's supporters had tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse; they were currently insane and they resided at St. Mungo's Cures for Magical Maladies, not even able to recognize their son when he visited over the holidays.  
"Standing against You-Know-Who, is fine, as long as you don't get caught by him. Harry, one these days you're going to get caught again. You are not careful enough."  
This wasn't like Neville. Neville was a scared, forgetful boy. He was never really brave or anything. Now, as Harry looked at his grim expression Harry realized that Neville wasn't a coward.  
"You're brave Harry but don't be stupid."  
Professor Trelawny spoke again. "Now trade and your partner will receive the vision."  
Harry desperately looked his mind for something happy to think about. Without even thinking he chose Sirius. What was happier than someone who might be able to take him away from the Dursleys? He closed his eyes.  
Nervously, Neville pointed his wand at him and recited the spell. When Neville was done he was pale. "The.murderer.is your godfather?"  
"Keep it down. I'll tell you the whole story some other time but for now, just know that he's innocent."  
"Class, now that you are all finished class dismissed. Next Monday I want an essay two rolls of parchment long about what you saw in the other person's memory and how you felt inside their thoughts."  
When they were at the landing at the bottom of the rope ladder Ron met up with Harry. Harry looked back at Neville. "Er- Ron I'll catch up with you down stairs."  
"Okay."  
Harry helped Neville get up, he had fallen trying to climb down the silvery rope ladder. "Neville, could you do me a favor?"  
"Yeah."  
"Don't write about Sirius for the Divination homework. Could you write about me playing a Quiditch game or something?"  
"As long as you don't write about my parents. I want you to write about me getting my Hogwarts letter."  
"Okay but maybe we should do the assignment again so that it will be easier to write."  
"Yeah. Tonight?"  
"Sure."  
"And Harry," Neville added before turning away, "Please don't tell anyone. Not even Ron and Hermione. I know you tell them everything but."  
"I understand." They walked down the many corridors and stairs leading down to the Great Hall. They were almost there when they ran into Hermione and Renata. "Hi!"  
"Arithmacy was so fascinating."  
"And Professor Vector didn't give us any homework."  
"At least you guys had a good morning, Divination is depressing," said Harry. Neville had left very quickly after muttering a hello to the girls.  
"She isn't still predicting your death, is she Harry?" asked Hermione.  
"Not in the past couple weeks she hasn't. But I'm sure she will be as soon as we're done with this going into memories stuff."  
"Actually," Renata said as they began walking again, "mind reading seems like an interesting branch of Divination."  
"Renata!" Hermione seemed genuinely shocked. "It's invading someone's private thoughts. It just is not right."  
Harry said, "Some people would say that." He was thinking of what he had overheard in Ron's thoughts when he had read his mind.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione questioned indignantly.  
"Nothing," Harry lied.  
"Can I borrow your Divination book, Harry? It sounds interesting," Renata asked.  
"I'll think about it. C'mon Ron's waiting for us." They continued down to lunch. They all had a rather enjoyable lunch and then the Gryffindor fifth years went to Transfiguration. The class waited for the arrival of Professor McGonagall. As soon as she did the class sat down.  
"I want all of you to open your books and read the theory of human transfiguration. You will not be working much with this until next year but I would like to get you familiar with the material now." About halfway through class Professor McGonagall spoke again, "When you are done reading the lesson come up and grab a copy of the instructions for transfiguring your foot into a paw." Nearly fifteen minutes later things did not seem to be going too well. Renata and Hermione had managed the transformation of their feet beautifully but no one else seemed as lucky. Neville's foot looked a bit like a large slug. The rest of the class seemed to have no results at all. With only ten minutes left until class was over there was a knock on the door and tiny Professor Flitwick who taught Charms came in. He rushed over to have a quiet word with Professor McGonagall.  
Flitwick whispered quietly for a moment to McGonagall. She looked up, "I realize this is a few minutes early but class dismissed."  
As everyone picked up their bags and left Harry knocked his over. He turned to Ron and Hermione, "I'll be along in a minute." He slowly picked up his notes and books to put them in his books. He strained his ears to listen to what the two professors were saying.  
"The Dementors have left Azkaban, Minerva. Those vile soul-suckers are out and about somewhere," he squeaked.  
"Does the Headmaster know?"  
"Yes, Albus was the one who asked me to inform you. He is notifying the staff now and he plans on telling the students at dinner tonight."  
"This is awful."  
"Yes, Minerva, I'll see you later. Albus asked me to inform Sybil as well. She is all the way up in the North Tower so I should really be going now."  
Professor Flitwick left the room, and as soon as McGonagall's back was turned Harry picked up his bag again and dashed out of the classroom.  
He rushed down the stairs to lunch, eager to tell Ron and Hermione of what he had just heard. He saw Ron waiting with Hermione and Renata at the top of the stairs.  
"We tried to wait outside McGonagall's room but when Flitwick came out he told us to go down to lunch."  
"You aren't going to believe this," Harry told them. He motioned to an empty classroom. He told them about what he had heard.  
"Harry." Hermione said shaking her head.  
"What about Siri-."Ron began but was silenced with a look from Harry and Hermione as they glanced at Renata then stared at him.  
Renata chuckled. "Hello? Did you guys forget that I've already met Sirius?"  
Harry blushed a bit. He never liked being wrong. "Yeah, well.I have to write to Sirius. Those things are still looking for him. If they find him they'll." It was a fate worse than death. A Dementor could suck out a person's soul leaving them to be an empty shell. Harry couldn't let that happen to Sirius. "I'm going to go write to him now."  
"Harry stop just a minute and be reasonable," Renata said coming to stand in front of him.  
"What do you mean?"  
"People might notice if you aren't at lunch. Right?"  
"I guess. You could say I'm in the Hospital Wing or something."  
"Hello? As usual as it is for you to end up there, if we said that you were there people might try to find out what's wrong. So, go to lunch, don't draw attention to yourself, and slip out early. Easy as that." She turned and strode out of the room. The others followed her to the Great Hall.  
Harry impatiently wolfed down his lunch, hardly aware of what he was eating. He leaned over and said to Ron, "I'll be in the Owlery." He hustled up the stairs. He continued on his way until he reached the Owlery. He took out a bottle of ink, a quill, and parchment. Harry wrote his letter. When he was done he read it through once more.  
  
Dear Sirius,  
I want to put you on your guard. The Dementors have left Azkaban  
and you know what that means. Be careful and write back soon. How have  
things been going with all the work you guys are doing? I am staying  
out of trouble.  
Harry  
  
Harry got up and went over to the perch where Hedwig was. He stroked her feathers for a moment and then tied the letter to her leg. "Would you take this to Sirius for me?" She gently nipped his finger and flew out the window. He watched her soar until he could no longer see her. A hand fell on his shoulder and a familiar voice spoke behind him.  
"Harry, shouldn't you be in class?"  
Harry spun around. "Professor Lupin, what are you doing here?"  
"I came to meet with Professor Dumbledore and I decided to send a letter before leaving. I think you and I should have a little chat."  
"But I'm missing class."  
"Whose? Not Potions, right?"  
Harry shook his head.  
"Good. I'm not much up for talking to Severus today. So, what class are you missing?"  
"Defense Against the Dark Arts."  
"Really? I wouldn't mind speaking to Jenny. Let's you and I have a little chat and then I will go and explain to your professor why you are late." Professor Lupin led Harry down the way to Professor Delano's study. "So Harry, how have you been?"  
"Fine."  
"You haven't been in any trouble have you?"  
"No."  
"No unwelcome visitors? No unsigned letters?"  
"No." Harry thought guiltily about the snakes and the "Friend of a Friend" letters from Renata and Vanessa.  
"Really now, you wouldn't count those snakes from earlier this year as unwelcome visitors?"  
"Er." He hadn't been counting on Lupin knowing that. "Professor how much do you know about the Book of Ever?"  
The question seemed to startle him. "Well, Harry except for an extremely select few no one really knows much about it."  
"Yes. I figured so judging by that all three books in the library with information about the book in them had the information someway removed."  
"Really? Then how much do you know?"  
"The book will come to an end when all the Phoenixes are gone. A Phoenix was killed in September, you know."  
"I didn't know. How do you know this?"  
"A friend of a friend. Dumbledore's Phoenix is the only domesticated one left. The other domesticated one was killed and his owner Kennilworthy Whisp is missing. The only clue is a vortex that was left open in the attic. He went missing on the fourth of September."  
"Whisp.sounds familiar. He was a year or so below me and your dad."  
"He wrote Quiditch Through the Ages."  
"He also writes a Quiditch magazine, the issues come out every three months. I know the September issue came. I'm not sure what happened to the December issue. I don't know if it came out or not. I'll have to check. Come on now, I will take you down to class." They left and went down to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  
".are dangerous creatures. They are most commonly found in the jungles of-Harry would you care to give an explanation of why you are late for class? Remus!" Professor strode over to where Harry and Professor Lupin were standing by the door.  
"Good afternoon Jenny," he said smiling. "Sorry Harry is late, we were talking. I hope it was alright that we used your study."  
"That's just fine. Harry, please go sit down."  
"Jenny, could I talk to you?"  
"I'm in the middle of class, Remus."  
"The Headmaster asked me to speak with you. You didn't get the message earlier when the other teachers did and Dumbledore asked me to tell you if I saw you."  
"Just a minute then." She turned. "Class, I am going to step out for a moment please behave while I'm gone." The two professors stepped out into the hall.  
The door was left slightly ajar and because he was sitting on the end of the row Harry could see the two Professors talking. Lupin was saying something. Professor Delano seemed to gasp and pale slightly.  
Ron nudged Harry in the shoulder, "Harry."  
"Ssh!" He was still watching the professors. Lupin seemed to talk a bit more and point down the corridor. Delano, with a worried look on her face, gave him a hug and turned away as the other professor strode down the hall vanishing from sight.  
As Professor Delano walked into class she seemed to have regained her composure. "Class, there has been a change in our immediate lesson plan. In light of recent events, which you will all be informed of tonight at dinner, we will be working on something called a Patronus. It helps to keep Dementors away. This is a very difficult charm and I am sure many of you will have difficulty with it but I am going to attempt teaching it to all of you rather soon.  
"Now to start with you need to understand a few things. You need to know what a Dementor is and what its powers are. Can anyone tell me what it does?"  
Only four hands went up. They were Harry, Ron, Renata, and Hermione.  
"Hermione?"  
"A Dementor feeds itself on the happy feelings of others. When you're around them you are forced to experience the worse things in your life over and over again. Some experiences like that are bad enough to make you cry or pass out in some cases."  
"Excellent. Does anyone know the best remedy after meeting a Dementor?" This time Neville's hand went up as well. "Yes, Neville?"  
"I think chocolate helps."  
"Correct. Now does anyone know what a Patronus is?"  
Hermione and Ron glanced at Harry and put their hands down.  
"Well, Harry?" asked the Professor.  
He considered a moment before answering. He spoke slowly, "A Patronus is like a shield against Dementors." He closed his eyes and began to speak much quicker. "By summoning the happiest thought possible when you make a Patronus you deflect the Dementor's powers. Your Patronus will stand against the Dementor and the Dementor will either just absorb the happiness from or it will cause the Dementor to back away and most likely leave you alone and unaffected."  
"Very good answer, Harry. Class, you may leave. I want everyone to think of something very happy to help with the Patronus that they will be attempting to make." The class began to pack up their bags. "Harry would you mind staying a moment?"  
"No problem." He turned to Ron, Hermione, and Renata. "I'll be down in a minute." They left.  
"Harry, I understand you have experience in warding off Dementors."  
"If you knew what I hear when they come near me, you have to be able to get rid of them." Harry always passed out if he didn't have his wand when they were near him.  
"I know.  
"No. You don't know what I hear."  
"Harry, no, I don't know, but it isn't my place to force you to discuss it. Harry, I need your help. You know that a Patronus is extremely advanced magic. Not many people in the class will be able to make one. Remus, I mean, Professor Lupin, was quite impressed that you were able to accomplish one in your third year. I want you to help the other students."  
"Okay." He turned to leave just before he reached the door he turned back. "I was only able to do it because I had the right motivation. I'm not sure how many more times I can stand hearing my parents get murdered."  
Harry went down to the Great Hall and found that Ron had saved him a seat.  
"So?"  
"Lupin told her that I know how to do a Patronus and Delano wants me to help out the class. Did Dumbledore make his announcement yet that Delano was talking about?"  
"Not yet."  
"But it isn't really that difficult to put two and two together," added Renata seated across from Harry. "We know that the Dementors have left Azkaban and we know that Lupin delivered a message that the other teachers already got. Now, my mom just changed her lesson plan to include battling Dementors. It's not that hard to figure out."  
"Well, Dumbledore just stood up so we might as well listen politely," Hermione whispered as the Great Hall grew silent.  
"Good evening students! I have a few announcements to make tonight. I believe in keeping my students informed about what goes on in the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts. I therefore am informing you that the Dementors that guard Azkaban have left the fortress. I must also add that no one knows where they are. Because of this, some of you will be working with something new in your Defense Against the Dark Arts class.  
"I do have something of a lighter note to add. Each of the remaining Quiditch matches for the year will be moved up by one week. This is so that once the Quiditch cup is awarded the winning team will be playing against another school. The school the winning house will be playing is the Angels Magical Academy of California. Although, I must say I do not yet know whether they are coming to Hogwarts or we are going to the Angels Academy. When more is known you will be informed. Enjoy your dinner!"  
Once the Headmaster had seated himself noise broke out among every table regarding his comments. Fred and George came over to stand on either side of Renata.  
"Hi, pal."  
"Good to see you."  
"Okay what do you want?" She asked turning from one to the other.  
"Were the members of your Quiditch team last year by any chance good looking?"  
"And preferably our age?"  
Renata seemed to be considering a moment. "Yes they were. A couple of them were are the same age as you two actually."  
Fred and George grinned. "Thanks." And they walked off.  
Hermione noticed Renata was hiding a giggle. "What is it? Weren't you telling the truth?"  
"Yeah, but I'm afraid they'll still be disappointed."  
"Why's that?"  
"They were good by my standards, they were guys. Trust me they'll be disappointed, as of last year there was only one other girl on the team. It was the two of us, and five rather attractive guys, although I wouldn't go so far as to call them all hot, just a couple of them." She broke into an evil looking grin before laughing again. "Two of the guys on the team are Fred and George's age. That was my sad little joke: good looking members of the team, just not girls; Fred and George will be awfully disappointed. Although some of the guys on the team rather fancied Elizabeth, she was the other girl. Good ol' Ellie, I miss her. And Rory, and the rest of them."  
"So, do you think the match will be here or at your old school?"  
"I'm not sure. Either way I hope we win the Quiditch Cup so we can go play."  
"The only match we have left this year is the one against Slytherin."  
"They aren't so tough. They just think they are."  
They finished up with dinner and went upstairs. "Harry, do you want to work on our Transfiguration homework?" asked Ron as they marched up the steps.  
Harry caught sight of Neville, "Neville and I have to redo our Divination thing from class so I've got to work on that with him right now."  
"Okay."  
When they got to the tower Neville and Harry sat in some chairs in the corner. Harry focused on when he and the Gryffindor team won the Quiditch cup the year before last.  
When it was Neville's turn, Neville thought about when he got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. When they were done they each wrote the essay that went with the assignment.  
After that Neville went somewhere, possibly the library, and Harry moved over to where Ron, Hermione, and Renata were working on their homework for Transfiguration. Hermione would never give them the answers (she wanted them to learn) but by having her help them and then check the assignments over for them they got the correct answers anyway.  
After half an hour Ron threw down his quill, "I don't feel like writing." He lay back in his chair. There was a loud tapping on the window. Ron, startled, opened his eyes. "Its Hedwig!" He rushed over to open the window. "Read it, Harry."  
Slowly Harry untied the letter from Hedwig's leg. He opened it, and found it was from Sirius, he had nor expected such an early reply.  
  
Harry, thanks for the warning. I want you to be careful. I can't say  
everything I would like to in a letter in case it gets intercepted. I  
cleared it with Dumbledore and Friday night at 8 o'clock, be in his  
study. Until then be on you guard.  
Concerned,  
Sirius  
  
After reading it Harry passed it to Ron who passed it to Hermione and then Renata.  
"I wonder what he knows."  
Harry gave Renata a sharp look. "What do you mean?"  
"Its obvious he heard something, otherwise he wouldn't come here. After all, coming is a plenty big risk for him."  
  
The days seemed to pass slowly and dully until Friday finally came. But at last it did.  
"Ugh, we've got Potions again today," Ron complained as they sat down to breakfast."  
Snape had been in a particularly bad mood of late and he was taking it out on just about everyone, especially the Gryffindors.  
"If this next potion smells anything like that last one I'm likely to vomit," Renata said.  
"Oh that's nice, don't sit by me then," Harry said with a bit of a laugh.  
"Seriously, that last one smelled a bit like dragon dung," Renata said this, piling eggs onto her plate and everyone laughed. "What? I'm serious."  
"So am I," retorted Harry.  
Hermione snorted. "I think it's a bad idea to have Potions right after eating."  
Ron said, "I think it's a bad idea to have Potions at all."  
When they were finished they made their way down the cold corridor to the dungeon where Potion class was held.  
Snape arrived about a minute and a half later and barked at them all. "What are you all waiting for? Get inside! Now!" He stalked off angrily to the front of the room.  
Renata made a point of sitting right next to Harry. She whispered, "Just a precaution in case I throw-up." She had to stifle a giggle a Snape began to speak once more.  
He walked around as he spoke, barely above a whisper. "Today we will be working on a Potion I doubt many of you will find easy. We shall be brewing glory." He stopped in front of Harry's desk. "I doubt you need any help with glory, Potter. Longbottom, on the other hand," Snape said moving on to where Neville sat. "I suspect when you attempt this potion you will end up with a shame potion. But I seriously doubt you can get in any deeper shame than that botched job you did on your healing draught last week that ended up giving you chicken pox."  
To Harry's surprise, Neville was hardly shaking at all; he often went to pieces in Snape's class.  
About halfway through the class, when the Potions were simmering Harry leaned over and whispered to Renata while Snape's back was turned. "So does the potion smell too much like dragon dung?"  
"No. More like pickled toads." They both head to stifle their laughter behind their hands.  
"Ten points from Gryffindor!" spat Snape. "No talking." Snape had such a foul disposition this day that as he moved on to where Draco Malfoy was stirring his potion and talking loudly about how Dumbledore should be fired that he barked to Draco, "With a potion that thick you'll be strutting around all day with an even larger ego than the one you have, add another bat wing!"  
Malfoy seemed stupefied. He was Snape's favorite student and therefore had never been criticized by him, only praised. "You can't talk to me like that."  
"Do you want detention?"  
Draco slumped down into his seat, his cheeks turning ever so slightly pink.  
Ron was in very high spirits when they left class, despite the fact that Gryffindor had lost ten points. "Ha! Wasn't it great watching Snape tell off Malfoy? I mean I think he insulted you, too a but still it was still great."  
Harry, much as he had enjoyed seeing Malfoy told off, was having some troubling thoughts.  
Hermione noticed Harry and his troubled expression and went to stand by him. "What's the matter Harry?"  
"Nothing really," he lied.  
"Harry, haven't you figured it out yet? You can't lie to us. You can fool teachers, but we know when something's on your mind," Hermione chided him.  
Harry gave in, "Alright. There's got to be a reason for Snape's bad mood. I mean he's always awful but he's been worse lately. He's up to something."  
Ron came over too, "Personally I think just being Snape would put him in a bad mood."  
"But I was serious, Ron."  
Renata sped up her pace a bit to join them. "Well, you all better cheer up soon."  
"Why?"  
"Especially you, Harry. We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts for our next class and you all need happy thoughts to make a Patronus."  
They all agreed to change the subject. "None of you ever finished telling me which club you signed up for." Renata told them. "Hermione started to say something and then Malfoy came over. Remember?"  
"Yeah."  
"We're already signed up."  
"Really, now? And what did you choose?"  
"We're all in the Dueling Club. Although, I've no idea when the first meeting is."  
Renata chuckled. "What a surprise. More fighting."  
"We were in a Dueling Club once. It just wasn't too helpful," Hermione told her.  
"All we learned was this. Expelliarmus!" Harry pointed his wand at Renata and as her wand flew out of her hand he caught it. "Hey it was useful."  
"Yeah, we learned something else too that day. We learned, like you said, this, Expelliarmus!" Ron caught Harry's wand and Renata's wand that Harry had been holding. "And we learned that you, Harry, are a Parseltongue."  
"I don't care what anyone says Ron, I did not tell that snake to attack Justin."  
They all began to laugh almost uncontrollably. By the time they caught their breath it was almost time for their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. When they reached the classroom Professor Delano wasn't there yet, but Dean and Seamus were looking over the Daily Prophet.  
"Its not fair. They can't do this," muttered Seamus.  
"What's the matter?" asked Harry.  
"Quiditch Today is being stopped for a while and they won't tell us why. And this month it was supposed to be a double issue because the last issue never came," explained Dean.  
Hermione thought for a moment before replying. "Isn't Quiditch Today that magazine written by Kennilworthy Whisp?"  
"Yes."  
A swift glance passed between Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Renata. It was the kind of look that said this isn't good news.  
Just then Professor Delano came with a large crate under her arm. "Come in everyone, sorry I am late."  
The students went inside and Ron gave Harry and Renata back their wands.  
"Students, listen well. First we will have a demonstration of what a proper Patronus should be like, and then I will teach all of you. Harry, please come here."  
Harry got up and walked to the front of the room.  
She whispered to him, "There is a boggart in this crate. Professor Lupin recommended it as my best way for a demonstration. Are you ready?"  
He nodded.  
"One.two.three!" She opened the crate.  
Harry was ready. He had been thinking of the day when the charges against Sirius would be dropped and he could leave the Dursleys. Harry shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" A silver stag shot out of Harry's wand and charged the boggart Dementor. It began to back away and the Professor closed the crate. Harry's Patronus came back to him for an instant before it vanished.  
The whole class applauded. Harry went back to his seat.  
As the clapping died down Professor Delano spoke, "Some of you may have realized that Dementor was actually a boggart. Who remembers what a boggart is? Yes, Hermione?"  
"A boggart is a shape shifter and as soon as you see it, it turns into what your most afraid of. That's why no one knows it's true form."  
"Excellent. Five points to Gryffindor. We used a boggart because obviously a real Dementor could not be brought in, but had this boggart Dementor not been attacked by the Patronus the Dementor powers it was mimicking would have affected you all. Now let us go into understanding what exactly a Dementor is and what a Patronus is. A Dementor brings out every bad thing that ever happened to you and make you relive it in your mind. The effect is awful. Sometimes you'll shake or cry, but you always feel awful. Now a Patronus counteracts this. When Harry made his Patronus he was thinking of something happy, maybe winning a Quiditch match. But whatever it was it was a positive thought. Now, with the help of the spell, the positive thought was able to take a semisolid form and charge the Dementor. A Patronus is able to act as a shield. Any question thus far?"  
Lavender raised a hand. "Does the Patronus work against anything else?"  
"Well, I've never tested it on anything but Dementors although there is an eyewitness account of a wizard who successfully drove away a Lethifold with a Patronus. Harry?"  
"Well, it worked against some Slytherins pretending to be Dementors."  
"There is your answer Lavender. I guess it works against enemies." The class passed on as the Professor explained various facts about Dementors and the class dutifully copied down the notes. The Professor seemed to notice the class was looking rather bored. "Would anyone care to attempt a Patronus?"  
Hermione raised her hand and the professor looked rather pleased until Hermione spoke. "Professor Delano you never told us what the spell was."  
"Oh. The spell is Expecto Patronum. Say it with me class, Expecto Patronum. Very good. Would anyone like to attempt a Patronus?"  
No hands went up. At last Harry got up and went to the front of the room again.  
The Professor took Harry aside. "Thank you. When the Dementor comes out hold off on the Patronus as long as possible so the class can understand what it is that they'll be dealing with."  
"Okay." His stomach felt like it flip-flopped. Harry noticed that Professor Delano didn't look too happy either.  
"Three.two.one." The crate was opened.  
It began immediately. Harry heard is father's voice telling Lily to take Harry and run while he tried to hold off Voldemort. Harry couldn't take it anymore. "Expecto Patronum!" The silver stag shot out of his wand, his mother's screaming stopped, and the boggart-Dementor backed away and Harry shut it in the crate. He looked around the room. Some of the students were worse off than others.  
Neville appeared near to a nervous breakdown, and Harry could easily guess why. Only two other people seemed that badly off. Harry was surprised to see Renata's face wet with tears and her mom looked to be near tears herself. Hermione looked pale but brought a Chocolate Frog out of her pocket and gave it to Renata. It seemed to help a bit. Chocolate converted the cold feeling left by a Dementor to a warmth.  
Professor Delano fumbled with a package on her desk. Harry saw that it contained enough bars of Honeyduke's Chocolate for the whole class. Professor Delano still seemed quite shaken as she lifted the box of chocolate. Harry took one of the chocolates out of the box and put it on her desk then passed the rest of them out to the class.  
In a moment everyone seemed much better off. Professor Delano was able to talk to the class again.  
"I am quite sorry that was necessary. I told Harry not to perform the Patronus charm right away so that all of you would feel the affects of a Dementor. I'm sorry I didn't warn you. I would like you to add to your notes that after encountering a Dementor, chocolate is a very good remedy. Your homework is a roll of parchment on what a Dementor is and why a Patronus works against them. You may leave now."  
On their way down to lunch Renata was still in a gloomy mood but she wouldn't say why. The Dementor effects had worn off but she was still upset.  
"What is it, Renata?" asked Hermione.  
"Nothing." Renata replied.  
"Something is wrong," Ron agreed.  
"No."  
"Yes." Ron said.  
"No," was again Renata's reply.  
Quietly Harry spoke so only Renata would hear. "It was the Dementor, wasn't it?"  
Renata didn't answer.  
Hermione put her arm around Renata. "It isn't a big deal that you cried back there."  
"Yeah," put in Ron. "The first time Harry met a Dementor he passed out."  
Harry felt his cheeks burn, but he remained silent.  
"Come on Renata," Ron wheedled. "What did you hear before the Dementor got shut back in the box?"  
"I don't want to say," after that she barely talked the rest of lunch.  
Ron grumbled, "I don't see any reason not to say anything."  
Harry caught the muttered words. "Ron, maybe she has her reasons for not telling us. I certainly wouldn't say anything about what I hear."  
Renata looked up at Harry with a thankful smile.  
Hermione changed the subject. "I want to know more about that disappearance. Maybe there was something in the Daily Prophet." She turned to Dean and Seamus. "Do either of you still have your copies of the paper on you?"  
Seamus handed his over.  
Hermione opened it. The article concerning the Quiditch Today and Kennilworthy Whisp was incredibly short and held no more information than what Dean and Seamus had told them. Hermione however spotted something else.  
"Look!" she whispered. Quietly she read her friends the article. Then, she sat back to watch the reaction.  
"Phoenixes? Disappearing? This can't be good."  
"Don't they have the power to disappear and reappear somewhere else?"  
"Yes but they aren't doing it! They're disappearing and not coming back."  
There wasn't really much else they could say. There were questions, yes, but no answers. At last they all went out onto the grounds for their Care of Magical Creatures class.  
When he saw Malfoy on the field with the Slytherins Harry remembered Snape's foul mood with no apparent reason behind it and Malfoy's humiliation at Snape telling him off, he realized this was going to be a long class.  
Hagrid saw the Gryffindors approaching. "Hello Harry! Alrigh' there Ron? Hermione? Renata?" He turned to the rest of the class. "Got a real treat fer yeh all today. Yeh get to take care of Scallywoggles. They're a right tricky bunch. Make no mistake abou' that. Scallywoggles live in the water. Bu' the odd thing is they breathe fire while they're under there. I'n't that funny? Bu' they are real 'elpful too. They eat Sea Slugs. Them Sea Slugs can be pesky when they start eatin' the vegetation. Anyway yeh all get ter come see some Scallywoggles I caught this mornin'. They usually on'y come ou' at dawn an' dusk but where I got 'em yeh can seem 'em jus' fine. C'mon." Hagrid looked like he couldn't be happier, the students on the other hand were apprehensive.  
The Scallywoggles were thin creatures less than a foot long with an eerie iridescent color to them. Hagrid reached down and pulled one up by the tail. "Now none of yeh shou' try this without yer dragon 'ide gloves on. 'Cause these little suckers got energy bolts in their tails in addition ter their fire breathin'. Anyone wan' a closer look at this one?"  
No one seemed to. Poor Hagrid looked crestfallen and the next thing he heard didn't make him any happier.  
"Why would anyone want to touch or even look at a slimy thing like that? Who wouldn't want something that could burn them and electrocute them at the same time?" came Malfoy's drawl.  
"Malfoy, shut up!" Harry and Ron said at the same time.  
"Go ahead, Hagrid," Hermione said once Malfoy had been silenced.  
"Alrigh' then now. I wan' everyone ter put their gloves on so they can come look at the Scallywoggles. This one here is called Lear. C'mon yeh can each hold one I got enough of 'em here. Yeh can feed 'em too, the buckets over there 'ave got some nice slugs in them. Who wants to hold one?"  
No one appeared to want to so Harry, Ron, and Hermione and even Renata too pulled on their dragon hide gloves and walked over to the water's edge.  
"What do we do?"  
"Yeh've got yer gloves on, jus' pluck one outta the water."  
Renata looked at the water and as soon as one of the twenty or so Scallywoggles came near the edge her hand shot down and grabbed it by the tail. After that Harry caught one, and with some hesitation so did Ron and Hermione.  
"Grea' job! Now come over here ter the buckets and get some slugs. Yeh gotta put them on leaves, see? 'Cause the Scallywoggles don' like to eat off the ground. Set 'im down nice and easy. Good. Put the slug over by 'im. Good!" The odd creatures were now circling the slugs. Suddenly they opened their mouths and shot out fire on the slugs, which of course the flame soon caught. The Scallywoggles then jabbed at the charred slugs with their tails and moved them to their mouths where the slugs vanished.  
"Cool!" said Dean, who then went over to get one of the Scallywoggles from the section of lake Hagrid had marked off. Eventually the rest of the class joined in.  
Malfoy dropped his three times. The final time it shocked his foot when it landed. The Gryffindors laughed but the Slytherins were concerned. "Draco, Draco are you alright?" came Pansy Parkinson's screeching voice.  
Hagrid brought out an orange bottle that immediately numbed the pain giving him no excuse to moan in agony.  
When the class ended at last Harry heard Malfoy talking to Crabbe and Goyle. "Father is not going to be pleased. How dare Professor Snape speak to me like that this morning! That oaf Hagrid shouldn't even be teaching. Father will not be happy that another of his creatures attacked me. He'll probably get the school governors involved. This time Hagrid will be gone for sure."  
Harry sped to catch up to the others. "Malfoy is going to try to get rid of Hagrid."  
"Again?"  
"Didn't he already try once?"  
"Yeah. But."  
"Harry stop worrying, it could lead warts. And not the kind that can be removed like regular ones that can be gotten rid of by magic but warts that come from stress only go away when you relax. I know, my friend, Nicole had three on her face in our third year, poor thing. She spent hours crying. That is, when she wasn't constantly studying." Renata told them. "Now what's all this about that Malfoy kid getting rid of Hagrid?"  
Quickly Harry explained Malfoy's past attempts to get Hagrid sacked, even before he was teaching. "He really isn't nice. Nothing we can do at the minute, though," questioned Renata.  
"Where did Hagrid get those things from class?" asked Ron.  
"I'm not sure I want to know. I just hope it was too illegal. I bet they're hybrids. Too much trouble to think about right now, though."  
"I'm in no move to think. Let's go down to the kitchen and see the house-elves. Maybe they'll give us some of those chocolate éclairs."  
Hermione moaned. "Do you ever think without stomach, Ron?"  
"Yeah, I do," he cried indignantly.  
"Let's just go inside."  
  
At quarter to eight Harry said goodbye and he left the Tower. On the way to Dumbledore's office Harry heard muffled voice coming from a room with the door slightly opened. Harry crept closer to hear better.  
"Igor," a cold voice was saying. "This is your last chance. Answer my question!"  
"Severus."  
"Igor, I am losing my temper. Would you like me to call in Dumbledore?"  
"No, I."  
"Answer me!" There was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground as if Snape had pushed Igor Karkaroff to the ground.  
"I'm not working for him anymore! I swear!"  
"Then where have you been spending your days? No one has seen hide nor hair of you since July."  
"I've been busy. They keep coming after me."  
"Who? The Death Eaters? The ones who are leaving Azkaban now that the Dementors are gone?"  
Karkaroff must have nodded.  
"Why shouldn't they come after you? After all the things you told the Ministry to keep yourself out of Azkaban they've got every reason to come after you. You sold them out Igor, and they want your blood, your shrieks, your pain. And you aren't the only one they are after, Igor. You should be afraid. He doesn't look kindly on those who betrayed him. Yes, he'll be after you. With the ones who have now left Azkaban and the ones who managed to keep from going there in the first place. You aren't the only one they want. They're after me, too, you know."  
"Severus, do you think they'll find us?"  
"I don't doubt it, Igor, but when they do you are on your own. I am not on his side. You just need to stay out of my way. Leave."  
Harry heard footsteps coming toward the hall he backed away and resumed walking in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Harry wasn't more than three yards from the door when he heard Snape's voice.  
"Potter! What are you doing here?"  
Harry guessed Karkaroff must have flown out the window or gone out another door since he hadn't emerged from the room. "I'm just going to the Headmaster's office. He wants to see me."  
"Well, Potter, then I think you should be escorted there so you don't get lost."  
"I know the way there, Professor."  
"I think you and I need to talk a moment, Potter."  
"I've got to meet Dumbledore in five minutes or I'll be late."  
"Then we should talk while I take you there. Potter, I heard your footsteps in the hall and then you stopped. What did you hear?"  
"Nothing at all. I only stopped a minute to tie my shoe."  
"A likely story! You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"  
"No, I wasn't." If only he could stop Snape from giving him detention long enough to reach Dumbledore's study.  
"Why would the Headmaster want to see you?"  
"I don't know, sir. I received a message saying he wanted to see me, so I'm going."  
They had just come to the statue hiding the staircase to Dumbledore's study but before either of them could speak the password Professor Dumbledore came out.  
"Good evening, Severus, ah hello, Harry I was just looking for you."  
"Hello, Professor," Harry said.  
"Harry, you may go up to my office, now. Severus, why don't you come with me? I've a craving for some chocolate chip cookies and milk. Let's go see if the house-elves have any."  
As Harry began to climb up the stairs Snape whispered fiercely to him. "Liar!"  
Harry ignored him and went up the stairs to where the study was.  
"Harry!"  
"Hi, Sirius. How're things going?"  
"Fine for me but the rest of the wizarding world could be in trouble."  
"I know I just heard Snape talking to Karkaroff."  
"Really now? What were they saying?"  
Harry briefly told Sirius of the discussion. "And Snape has been in a really bad mood lately."  
"That git always is," Sirius growled.  
Harry chuckled. "Well, he's been worse than usual. But as I recall Mr. Padfoot according to you he is an idiot who never should have become a professor. I agree."  
"Now where did you hear that?"  
"Third year Snape found the Marauder's Map in my pocket."  
Sirius laughed for a moment, "I wish I could have been there," he said, before becoming solemn again. "Harry, Voldemort is going to make his move soon. He has the Dementors, his faithful Death Eaters who went to Azkaban, the Death Eaters who walked free, and the Ministry of Magic is against us."  
"How much time do you think we have?"  
"Not long. Voldemort isn't one to delay. When he has the means to do something big he'll strike. Other than the death threats from the snakes earlier this year, has anything happened? Do you have any leads?"  
"We had a hunch earlier this year. Something called the Book of Ever."  
Sirius's face clouded over.  
"What is it Sirius?"  
"How much do you know?"  
"Not too much. We, the four of us, did some research. We only found information from the library in three books. But in all three just as the information was getting important you couldn't read the words anymore. Torn out. Blotted out with ink. Not there at all. We checked and the books were there since the founders but apparently the first Headmaster after the founders were gone had the information removed. Supposedly to protect the students. They say the book is about prophecies but that it will somehow end when the final Phoenix is dead. Sirius, the Phoenix on the perch over there is the only domesticated one left, and the ones on the reservations are disappearing, and not coming back."  
Sirius turned to look at Fawkes.  
"There was another one. Kennilworthy Whisp had one and this summer he disappeared. His Phoenix was killed and Kennilworthy Whisp, well he was not found. But there was a vortex that someone left open in the attic. This was September."  
"How much did the Ministry print in the paper?"  
"Nothing until recently. The last two issues of his Quiditch magazine haven't gotten published or printed so the Prophet had to write saying that he was indisposed now and the magazine would be postponed."  
"I knew Ken back in school. He was a real Quiditch fanatic. Why would anyone go after him? He was always harmless enough. Who was notified? Who found the scene?"  
"A friend of his found the house on September 4 like I told you it was like. He immediately notified Dumbledore. I don't know who else he told."  
"Hmmm.I'll have to think on that. The friend was probably Matthias Greenfield. Matt and Ken were always good friends."  
"I know more about the Book. Voldemort tried to take the Book. He saw something in it so that's why he came after me. It's why my parents are dead. It's because of me that they aren't alive, isn't it? Isn't it, Sirius?"  
Sirius seemed hardly able to speak. At last he choked out, "Its not your fault Harry."  
"Yes it is."  
"No its not." Sirius had bowed his head and now looked up and placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. "And if anyone ever said that to you they are lying because in no way is this your fault. It never was your fault Harry. Their deaths weren't and neither was Cedric's."  
How could he have known, wondered Harry.  
For almost a full minute neither spoke a word.  
"When is Voldemort going to attack?"  
"I can't even guess, Harry. But you know it will be somewhere important where something big is happening. I've got to leave soon, Harry."  
"Sirius, don't trust any of the Ministry Officials accused of being Death Eaters. They're guilty. Well, except Bagman. But don't trust him with money, he is sort of addicted to gambling."  
"I'll remember that. Harry, I have to leave."  
"Can't I at least walk with you back across the grounds?"  
"Best not, Harry."  
Sirius got up and walked to the door. "Bye Harry."  
"Sirius?"  
"Yes?"  
"Thanks for coming to that last Quiditch game."  
"I'll come again whenever I can, Harry."  
Sirius transformed himself into a dog and he left the room. Harry followed and watched him leave. Then he turned for the long trek back to Gryffindor Tower. When he reached the common room he sought out Ron, Hermione, and Renata who were doing their homework.  
"Hey, you guys will not believe this." He told them about everything he had heard from Sirius that and the conversation he'd witnessed between Snape and Karkaroff."  
"Now we know why Snape was so edgy. He was obviously stressed out about meeting and talking to Karkaroff tonight," Renata said when the story was done.  
"Yes, but why did he want to meet with Karkaroff?"  
"Because he wanted to know whether he could trust him or not."  
"Well, one way and another we know Snape and Karkaroff are both traitors," Renata commented.  
"How do you figure?" asked Ron.  
"Well, we know Snape was at one point or another a Death Eater. Now we also know that he turned spy for Dumbledore. But if he was still on the dark side then or is on the dark side now he was betraying someone either way. Same thing with Karkaroff. But of course we'd never get either of them to admit it. You know what they say: the treacherous are ever distrustful," said Renata.  
Harry grinned. "That's Gandalf isn't it?"  
"Sure is. Professor Tolkien was pretty bright you know."  
"Hey are there anymore books after that last one I read? I have to find out what happens to Sam. Pippin and Merry too."  
"No. But did you read the Appendixes at the end of The Return of the King? It goes into stuff that happens after."  
"I'll have to go back to those. I can't believe what happened to Gollum. You know, for a Muggle his descriptions were pretty accurate, for the most part, on some things." Harry said thoughtfully.  
"He wasn't really a Muggle. His father was a wizard. Tolkien was a half-blood and a Squib and then his dad died when he was young. So Tolkien lived with his mom. Then, his magical relatives decided that he shouldn't completely be deprived of magic. So even though he didn't have powers they took him places. He got to meet dragons, dwarves, he got tons of inspiration from them. Although when ever they took him anywhere they made him think it was a dream afterwards."  
"I never knew that. So was Gollum based on anything?"  
"I'm not quite sure on that. The reference book about Tolkien that I got didn't go into great detail you know."  
"How about the hobbits?"  
Harry heard Ron whisper to Hermione, "They're obviously speaking another language."  
Harry laughed out loud. "Okay. Back now to what we were saying about Karkaroff and Snape. So, which way do you think it is?"  
"Karkaroff and Snape are both extremely unfair. He definitely shows favoritism. We know that from the tournament last year," said Hermione.  
"We know he's a coward. When Voldemort summoned the Death Eaters after the tournament Karkaroff left Hogwarts but he didn't go with the other Death Eaters," Harry was bitter at the memory of what happened that night. Voldemort had been reborn and he had killed Cedric. Harry bit his lip then continued speaking. "Snape said he hadn't been seen since July, it was June when he disappeared from Hogwarts. What we need to know is when in July someone found Karkaroff and where."  
"Most importantly we need to know why."  
"I'll write to Vanessa. See if she can dig up anything from the Daily Prophet from this summer. But the Ministry and the reporters seem to be staying pretty far out of this whole thing."  
"Of course they are. Fudge doesn't believe that everyone is in trouble and he doesn't want everyone to know that."  
"True. So how are we going to find out about Karkaroff?"  
"I don't know. I definitely don't relish the idea about saying anything to Snape."  
"Neither do I."  
"We've got to think of something."  
Hermione yawned. "It's getting really late I think we should go upstairs now and wait until morning to finish thinking."  
"Good idea." The four of them, the last to leave the common room, trudged up the staircases.  
Harry had the feeling that he was forgetting something, but as he couldn't possibly figure out what it could possibly be he was asleep. 


	12. Time to Be Mended Again

It wasn't quite morning yet. Harry heard the screaming. Harry felt he was enveloped in a thick swirling white fog. Harry heard muffled voices. Then there was nothing for a long time.  
  
The next thing Harry knew were a familiar pair of voices.  
"Albus, what do you think?"  
"Poppy, I think the boy was extremely lucky. We were almost too late." His voice was somber.  
Harry kept his eyes shut so the other two would think he was still asleep.  
"What will we do when Harry wakes up?"  
"I shall tell him as much as I dare of what happened. Then, we will let his friends visit him. Mister Weasly and Miss Granger have been most anxious to see him. After all, the boy his been unconscious for two full days. Today is the third."  
Harry sat up quickly with the shock. "Three days! What happened to me?"  
"Ah, I see you are awake at last, Harry. Yes, you gave us quite a fright."  
Madam Pomfrey looked relieved to see him awake and then for a moment a bit annoyed. "Please refrain from speaking too loudly, Mr. Longbottom is in the next bed."  
"What's Neville doing here?"  
"All in good time, Harry."  
"Can I see Hermione and Ron?"  
"Not yet, Harry. I would like to speak with you first. Poppy, could you give us a moment?"  
"Yes, I'll go check on the other boy."  
"Harry do you have any memory of what happened?"  
Harry had lied back down because sitting up was making him dizzy. "Not really. Just screaming, and some muffled voices."  
"Then I suppose I should start from the beginning. This is what I gathered from the boys in your dormitory. Ron and you had just come in. No sooner it seems had the two of you been asleep than something entered the room. Along with that something a snake had entered. The snake bit Neville."  
"Is he okay?"  
"It was poisonous. Madam Pomfrey has been treating the bite and Neville is nearly completely healed."  
"That's good. So what was it that came in the room?"  
"Several Dementors."  
"How did they get in the castle?"  
"We aren't sure yet. The snake went straight for Neville, who it may have assumed to be you."  
"What happened then?"  
"You were apparently knocked out. Neville could not move because of the snakebite. Seamus and Dean ran through the Tower screaming and waking everyone up. Ron, fairly managing to keep his head ran to my office. Likewise Hermione ran to Professor McGonagall and Renata ran to her mother's office. We had the Tower evacuated and the Gryffindors along with the rest of the school spent the evening in the Great Hall."  
"Why was I out for so long?"  
"I'm not exactly sure Harry. When we discover why I will tell you."  
"Professor?"  
"Yes, Harry."  
"Would someone get Ron and Hermione? Renata too."  
"Most certainly. I doubt Miss Delano would stand to be left behind even if she wasn't invited."  
"What time is it?"  
"Quarter to eleven."  
"They're in Transfiguration then."  
"Thank you. I shall send Dobby to fetch them. In the meantime why don't you talk to Neville? He should be awake." The Professor left the end of the bed where he had been seated and left the room; pointing his wand behind him causing the curtain separating Harry's bed from Neville's to slide back so they could see each other.  
"How are you feeling, Neville?"  
"Not bad. My shoulder hurts where I was bit. But it's strange. I think the snake got me in three places." Neville indicated three spots on his shoulder.  
"Do you remember what it looked like?"  
"Sorta. It was orange and black. This part sounds kind of dumb but I think there were three heads."  
Harry started to nod but stopped when his head began to ache more. "Have you been awake at all since you got up here?"  
"Yeah a few times. You only just woke up today, though. Right?"  
"Uh-huh. When did Madam Pomfrey say you could leave Neville?"  
"She didn't tell me yet."  
"Ron and Hermione are coming up soon. Renata too."  
"They came up once or twice before but you were asleep. Besides Madam Pomfrey said you weren't supposed to be disturbed. The Gryffindor team came to visit too. Wanted to know what to do about practice. I think Fred and George were running it."  
"Then obviously no one of the team got any work done."  
Neville managed a weak smile.  
Harry studied him for a few seconds. His shoulder appeared to be wrapped in a bandage. He also seemed pallid. "I think I hear footsteps."  
Sure enough soon afterwards Ron, followed by Hermione and Renata, came into the hospital.  
"Harry!" Hermione gave Harry a quick hug and blushed. "I'm glad you're okay."  
Ron added, "We tried to see you before but no one would let us in."  
"I heard. Its great to see you guys."  
"Nice to see you awake."  
"Are you okay Harry?"  
Harry nodded briefly and noticed all three of them had ignored Neville. "Er, I'm not to bad. If I sit up I get a bit dizzy. I just woke up a while ago actually. Neville is okay too; but his shoulder is still a bit messed up from the snake."  
Hermione turned to Neville. "Are you sure you're alright?"  
"I'm okay I guess."  
"Harry, I hope you're back out on the field soon because if the team plays against Slytherin how they were practicing we won't be going to California to play."  
"Make sure they work hard until I get out of this bed then." Harry told Renata.  
"Sure thing."  
Ron said, "Do you know when you'll be able to leave?"  
"No I didn't even wake up until today, who knows how long they'll make me stay. Do any of you remember what happened?"  
"Didn't Dumbledore say anything to you?"  
"Yeah but he was pretty vague. What happened?"  
The others looked uneasy for a moment before Ron finally spoke. "Well, we felt cold, how we always feel when there's a Dementor around. But it was worse because there was more than one. Harry I don't think you woke up. You just stayed asleep sort of I guess when the Dementors came. We don't know how they got in we didn't see them until we were awake. I guess the snake came in with them. It went straight for Neville."  
"I think the snake was looking for me," Harry said in a subdued voice.  
Neville said, "I think it was hissing a lot."  
"Probably trying to talk to me. What else happened, Ron?"  
"We don't know when the Dementors left or why, or why they were there in the first place. When they were gone we all tried to wake you. We couldn't neither could the teachers or Dumbledore. We ran off to get them once the Dementors were gone. We were all worried. Dumbledore let us follow him up here with you and Neville but then he sent us away. We kept coming back but you were still asleep. That's really it."  
"What else with the snake?"  
Ron thought a moment, "Well, after it bit Neville I think it realized its mistake cause it headed for you Harry but by then Dumbledore had come. He got there and the snake left. They can't find it. I think Dumbledore had Hagrid searching the grounds but." He shook his head.  
"So now what do we do?"  
The others looked at Harry, dumbstruck.  
"IYou /I are in no condition to do anything, Harry."  
"Harry, you can't be serious."  
"I am. I don't know about the rest of you but I need to know why. We should get back to the information with Whisp and the Book too. See what we can find. I doubt Madam Pomfrey will let me leave the Hospital Wing yet but it'd help if you guys brought me books so I can research the stuff."  
Neville looked across the aisle between beds. "What are you talking about?"  
They had forgotten that Neville was in the room with them. 


	13. Questions that Need Answers

"Its nothing Neville." They had realized that they made a huge mistake.  
Neville looked hurt.  
Hermione went over and tried to make him feel better. "Neville, we were just talking about things we heard and wanted to look into."  
He rolled over and ignored her. No one spoke. Then slightly muffled by a pillow, "You all lie to me and you're going to get hurt one day." After that Neville either fell asleep or just continued ignoring them.  
The four talked for a little while more deciding on what books to bring. That is, until Madam Pomfrey came back in and shooed them out claiming Harry needed rest. Harry, who didn't feel like sleeping, felt extremely bored. His friends had been chased out of the room. Neville was mad, and wouldn't speak to him. There was nothing to do.  
Two hours later Madam Pomfrey went to her office after giving Harry his lunch and while she was there Renata snuck in.  
"Hi Harry. It doesn't look like you made up with Neville yet, and it seems the nurse doesn't want the rest of us to be in here so I brought you a book. Here's the Simarillion. It's another Tolkien. You can borrow it, if you want. Personally I think you should apologize to Neville. Remember, friends can listen and talk back, that book can't." She turned heel and left before Harry could say a word about how he wasn't going to apologize to Neville.  
Harry was engrossed in his book when Madam Pomfrey came with dinner hours later Harry was still reading. She went over to Neville's bed and since Harry still hadn't touched his food when she came back she took his book and moved it to the other side of the room. "Eat, you need your strength if you want to leave in three days."  
"What's wrong with me that I even have to stay that long?"  
The nurse didn't answer and simply moved back to her office.  
After eating Harry was tempted to use the Summoning Charm to get his book but instead he turned to Neville.  
"Look, Neville, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to lie to you. We didn't have any choice."  
"Yes you did, and there's always a choice," the reply came in a melancholy voice.  
"I don't know why I'm even bothering to apologize to you," Harry muttered angrily.  
"Because she told you to."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Renata told you that you should apologize to me. You don't like saying sorry or that you were wrong so you started reading that book so you ignored what she said. Then you decided to listen to her advice because it was her advice."  
"You mean you weren't asleep when she was talking to me?"  
"I haven't slept all day."  
Harry's temper was rising. "You've listened to all my conversations all day!"  
"Well, no one ever talks to me so what am I supposed to do? Sit here?"  
Harry picked up his wand, "Accio Simarillion!" The book soared into Harry's hand and he began to read.  
At 10:30 Madam Pomfrey came in and turned the lights off. Harry lay there awhile before sleep claimed him.  
  
Harry was roused by the sound of voices.  
"Where can he have gone?" It was Madam Pomfrey.  
"He isn't in the Tower," McGonagall's voice.  
"Not in the dungeons," Snape's whisper.  
"Hagrid has seen no sign of him on the grounds."  
"Keep searching. We need to find him," Dumbledore this time.  
Harry heard several pairs of feet walk away.  
"Albus do you think he left of his own accord or was he taken by someone?"  
"Poppy, there is no sign of any struggle but who ever took him, if that was the case, could have quite easily covered their trail."  
"So what will we tell the students?"  
"For the time being keep the drapes around Neville's bed closed in case anyone comes up to see him or Harry. Harry will be awake soon."  
"What shall I tell him?"  
"I don't believe in telling lies. We shall tell Harry that Neville is not here this morning. If Neville still has not turned up by this evening we will have to report that he is indeed missing."  
"Albus, what about Harry? He is asking questions. He wants to know when he can leave. He also wants to know why he was unconscious and what happened to him. He wants to know why we're keeping him."  
"Well, Poppy there are several factors, you know. I could have sworn this was one of the securest places in the School. How a student can be taken from here without our knowledge or leave without our being aware is beyond my comprehension. I have to go consult with some friends about what happened in September and see if they know anything else. I'll be back shortly if not sooner."  
Harry listened to the receding sound of Dumbledore's steps and then to Madam Pomfrey's as well. He leaned over to the nightstand beside the bed and put on his glasses. He let the reality of what he heard hit him. Neville was gone. Dumbledore leaving out something important about what happened the night the Dementors came. Harry reviewed the facts. A poisonous snake had come to kill Harry. Dementors had left Azkaban and the first thing anyone knows they did after leaving was come to Hogwarts to Harry's dorm. But had the snake really come for him? That Boa Constrictor had warned him, but this didn't seem like Voldemort's style. He would do something big, something colossal. But he had no idea of what it was and no way to find it out.  
Harry slumped down in a dejected manner. At least as soon as he was out of the Hospital Wing he could go back to Quiditch practice. Nothing worked better for getting rid of nightmares than a vigorous Quiditch practice. That in mind, Harry drifted off once more.  
When he awoke once more it was with a start. His vision was blurred. Someone must have removed his glasses. He reached to the table and put them on. He knew what it was now, the Quiditch match with the Angel Academy! It had to be. Two schools. Harry, assuming he won the Cup at Hogwarts and got to play in the match, might be far enough from Dumbledore's reach to be vulnerable to attack.  
In the air what control could Dumbledore have? There was Dark Magic that could interfere with a broom. But how was it going to happen? Would Voldemort kill him in front of everyone or lure him away? Would he allow Harry a fighting chance and risk what happened the last time or would he do the same as what he had down to Cedric? Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey.  
"So I see you're awake. Well, I have your breakfast here. Eat it when you wish, but I warn you that if its not soon it will get cold. I'll be back to check on you in a bit."  
Harry didn't feel like eating but didn't want to make a fuss and put the food to his mouth as he returned to his confused thoughts.  
He needed to talk to Ron and Hermione; but he also needed a good excuse to speak with them.  
He brooded on it for a while, pretending to be reading. By the time Madam Pomfrey showed up with his lunch he had an idea.  
"Madam Pomfrey, I'm missing a lot of schoolwork right now and I just sit here doing nothing. Can Ron come by later with my work?" He asked in a voice of innocence.  
She hesitated before answering. "Of course. You don't want to fall behind now."  
"Madam Pomfrey, I need to talk to Neville I feel really bad because I was mean yesterday and I want to apologize." He tried to look like he meant what he was saying.  
"I'm sorry Harry, Neville isn't up here right now. You can talk to him next time you see him." That said, the nurse left before Harry could further question her.  
Harry chewed thoughtfully at his sandwich. Why was he being kept here? The effects from a Dementor wouldn't be a reason to keep him here. He hadn't gotten bitten by the snake. There was something more. There was something that wasn't being told to him. He tried to review everything he had found out but it was too confusing. This was a jigsaw puzzle and he was missing the key piece to hold it all together.  
Somewhere along in his confused thoughts he dropped back to sleep.  
  
When Harry woke he was being poked in the back. "Harry Potter, sir? Wake up!"  
"What?"  
"Harry Potter!"  
Harry looked down to see a house-elf named Dobby looking at him with enormous eyes. "Hello Dobby. What is it?"  
"Dobby hears things, Harry Potter."  
Harry waited for the house-elf to continue.  
"Many things, sir. They is going to get you. They took the other boy here. He's gone Harry Potter."  
"Dobby who's going to get me? Who took Neville?"  
"Dobby was in the Slytherin dungeon, had to change stinky sheets." He wrinkled his long, pointy nose. "Dobby heard the mean blonde boy talking to his friends. The one whose family Dobby used to work for. He said that the boy in the Hospital Wing would be sorry he existed. Then they was laughing, sir. Dobby thought they was talking about Harry Potter, sir. But then Dobby has to get dirty robes from the staff room and he hears more. Professor Dumbledore was talking to Professor McGonagall. They was saying that the boy in the Hospital with Harry Potter was gone. So Dobby knew that Harry Potter was safe but his friend is in danger, sir."  
"Thanks Dobby. Do you know who took Neville? Or where he is?"  
The little house-elf shook his head. "No. But Dobby does hear more. You aren't well Harry Potter. The Headmaster say so. Dobby hears him." He nodded his head vigorously.  
"What did he say was wrong with me?"  
"The Headmaster didn't say. He just say 'Harry cannot leave the Hospital Wing yet.' Both looked very worried. Then Dobby had to go to the kitchens."  
"Thank you Dobby. Tell me if you hear anything else?"  
"Yes, Harry Potter. Dobby must go now Harry Potter, sir." He left quickly.  
Harry mentally digested the information he had received. So there was something wrong with him. Malfoy had something to do with Neville's disappearance. Harry was mad. Neville had never hurt anybody. Why would they take him? Harry thought back to his second year when Voldemort had taken Ginny Weasly. She was unsuspecting. That's what it was. She hadn't done anything wrong but she was getting suspicious and so she was taken. Neville had heard them talking yesterday but how would anyone know that he had heard them?  
Well, whatever was wrong with him he hoped it wouldn't keep him from playing against Slytherin in their next Quiditch match. Every time Harry had faced Malfoy in a Quiditch match, Malfoy came out the worse; Harry wasn't about to let that change.  
Harry was still deep in thought when Ron came in followed by Hermione and Renata.  
"We've got news."  
"So have I." Briefly Harry told his friends of everything he had heard during the day. He finished with, "So Neville's missing, Dumbledore thinks that someone took him."  
"Why would anyone bother taking Neville?"  
"I don't know."  
"Here's your homework Harry. I don't understand why you want it but here it is."  
"Thanks I needed an excuse to talk to you all. I think I know when Voldemort is going to strike. The Quiditch game against the Angel Academy."  
"If you're right, then, Harry you know what you have to do," said Hermione.  
"What?"  
A look passed between Hermione and Renata.  
Renata took a deep breath. "Harry, she wants you to throw the game."  
"What do you mean 'throw the game'?"  
"Throw away the game Harry! You need to lose the Quiditch match against Slytherin so we don't go to California."  
"Never! The only Quiditch match I ever lost.well I'm not losing another one. Especially to those rotten Slytherins!" Harry could imagine the endless taunting from Malfoy if Gryffindor lost.  
Madam Pomfrey came out, "What's all the commotion about?"  
Ron was in his element. "We were telling him about a Quiditch game we read about in the sports section of the Daily Prophet and his favorite team lost."  
"Well, he needs rest and you are all disturbing him and he needs rest. Out!"  
Harry answered hastily. "Madam Pomfrey can they please stay a bit longer its lonely; without Neville here there's no one to talk to."  
"Ten minutes. That is it."  
"Thank you." Harry turned back to his friends. "I'm not going to lose that game. Renata, if you're playing bad on the day of the game I'll put someone else on the field."  
"That's assuming you get to play of course."  
"What are you saying?"  
"What if they don't let you out of the Hospital Wing by the time the match comes?"  
"How long do you think they'll keep me here? The match isn't until May 12. Its hardly the middle of February."  
Renata laughed. "Yeah but I've asked around and you seem to have a knack for ending up in here. Concussions. Bone loss. Tons of it. What is this now? Twice this year, and not for colds or flues."  
"I'm not going to miss the match," He said firmly.  
"Whatever," Renata answered casually.  
"Okay let's get back to the important thing here."  
"What's that, Hermione?"  
"I said let's get back to what's important. Harry, I don't really want you to lose. I hate the thought of Gryffindor losing to the Slytherins. But if it means people will be hurt."  
"Think about it. Hufflepuff plays Slytherin in two weeks. If Hufflepuff loses then Slytherin and Gryffindor are tied for the Cup. Then if we lose Slytherin will win. Renata do you really want them at your old school? They'll probably cause more trouble, if we're all there we can at least try to stop it." Harry knew he made some sense and hoped he had won with the argument.  
"That makes sense too."  
"Well we've got time let's forget about it for now and go back to Neville. Where could he be? They said they searched the grounds and the Castle. But did they get everywhere?"  
No one spoke.  
"Can you guys bring me my cloak tonight? There's somewhere I need to check."  
"Harry one of us can go in your place."  
"None of you speak Parseltongue," he replied in a low voice.  
"Why are you going there?" asked Hermione, shocked.  
"I have to. Renata, can you make a copy of me so I can leave without being noticed?"  
She looked doubtful. "I can try but I've only ever duplicated myself before. To make the duplicate out of nothing it will just be a hologram. If I use an inanimate object it won't move or do anything. With an animal maybe I could make you groan and roll over or something."  
"Well I've got to go, whether it works or not."  
Ron looked at his best friend, "Harry, I'm going with you. I went down there once and came out, I can do it again."  
"Me too," Hermione said.  
Renata was puzzled. "Where will you all go?"  
"The Chamber of Secrets."  
"Isn't that place a myth?"  
"We've been there."  
"I'm coming too."  
"Renata," Harry said. "I don't think the Invisibility Cloak will cover four of us."  
"There are other ways to avoid being seen."  
"Then nine thirty, I think. It will be early enough for you guys to have a short visit but late enough for me to be asleep when you leave; well, look like I'm asleep at any rate."  
Before anymore could be said Madam Pomfrey said they had to leave. Immediately.  
Harry whispered urgently, "Send Hedwig to me!"  
Then he was alone.  
Harry opened the window hopeful that one of his friends had heard his final words before they left. No more than half an hour later Hedwig fluttered to his knee bearing a note with a single word on it. What? Harry picked up a quill from among the pile of books beside his bed. He scribbled furiously in case Madam Pomfrey came back. The cloak is in the bottom left hand corner of my trunk. The map should be there too. It will look like a blank piece of parchment, sorta old and worn. Harry tied it to Hedwig's leg and she flew back to Gryffindor Tower in search of Ron.  
Harry decided he should be doing something useful so he began the dull task of catching up on his homework. Along with the books was a sheet listing all the assignments for each class each day, written up in Hermione's tidy writing.  
He started at the beginning.  
It was nine thirty and his friends hadn't shown up. They didn't come until quarter to ten. "What kept you?"  
"Snape he spotted us and wanted to know where we were going."  
"Didn't the map warn you?"  
"You forgot to tell us how to make it work."  
"Oh."  
Renata came over, "No use crying over spilled milk or lost time. I've got to get the spell ready." She pulled out one of Harry's hairs.  
"Ow! You could have warned me."  
"Why? It's so much more fun this way. Now, I told you the spell would work best with something alive. I couldn't bring your owl in here so I've got this." She opened her hand and held out a small fly. It buzzed irritatingly. She spoke in a whisper to the fly, "Do this one favor for me? Please."  
It buzzed a little less unhappily.  
"Good. Okay, Harry hold out you hand." Renata put the fly in Harry's outstretched hand. She began to utter the long and complicated words of the spell. Suddenly, there was no longer a fly in Harry's hand, but a perfect image of himself sitting next to him wearing pajamas identical to the one's he was wearing. Renata reached over and put Harry's hair that she had pulled out into the pocket of the duplicate Harry. She then extracted a small vial from her pocket. She made the duplicate Harry drink it. "Well we're done. That fly will stay like that for eight hours or whenever we take Harry's hair out of his pocket. Harry put your cloak on and climb out of that bed."  
As he did Renata let the duplicate Harry lay down and she tucked the blankets around him.  
"Let's go."  
"Wait!" Came Harry's voice from somewhere beside Ron. "Give me the map."  
"I can't see you."  
"Then hold it out and I'll take it." An invisible hand snatched the seemingly blank parchment form Ron. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Lines spread across the map as if they were being drawn and in the end came a complete diagram of Hogwarts, complete with secret passages and dots representing the people with their names in miniscule writing. The top of the page read:  
  
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs  
Purveyors of Aides to Magical Mischief-Makers  
Are proud to present  
THE MARAUDER'S MAP  
  
Renata looked at the map in awe. "Wow! Who made this?"  
"You know a few of them."  
"Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and my dad."  
"Harry, your dad.?" Renata questioned.  
He nodded. Then consulted the map. No one appeared to be in the corridor. "Let's go."  
"Harry, are you wearing pajamas to go down to the Chamber?"  
Harry reddened slightly and was glad no one could see him or his face. "Well, I had to change just before the three of you came and I didn't have time to change back before you got here."  
Renata tried to turn to where Harry's voice had come from. "And you don't have time now. We've got to leave."  
The four of them left, Harry standing under the cloak while the others walked out in the open to give the appearance that the visitors were returning to the Gryffindor House.  
They were halfway to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom when someone caught their attention. It was Hagrid. He saw them.  
He waved and came over. "Why yeh all out o' bed so late, eh?"  
"We were up seeing Harry in the Hospital Wing."  
"Maybe I'll go say 'night to the laddie meself."  
"Er-No!"  
"Why?"  
"Well." Ron started.  
"We just saw Harry. He's asleep and it really isn't a good idea to go waking him up. Madam Pomfrey insists that Harry needs as much sleep as possible," Renata filled in quickly.  
"Aw. Then I'll see 'im in the mornin'. 'Night all!"  
"Goodnight Hagrid!" They called.  
They continued on their way to the bathroom without incident. As soon as they got there Harry ripped off the cloak.  
"What are all you doing here?" called a moping voice.  
"Er-Hi Myrtle."  
"None of you have visited me in ages. It's lonely here!"  
"No don't cry Myrtle!" Hermione said.  
"We're here now!" called Harry.  
She sniffled and cheered up a bit. "Hello Harry. Who's that?" The sad looking ghost pointed to Renata.  
"This is our friend Renata."  
"Hello Myrtle. Do you come here often?"  
"I'm always here."  
"Except when you're spying on Prefects in the bathroom," muttered Harry.  
"Why are you whispering? I don't like secrets. People were whispering about me the day I.here."  
"Died?" helped Renata.  
"Don't rub it in!"  
"Its okay Myrtle," Hermione said. "We just want to ask you some questions. Has anyone been in here lately?"  
"No." Came the sulky reply. "You three and now her are the only ones who visit me and you haven't been around for a long time."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes!"  
"Ok thanks Myrtle."  
Ron murmured to Harry, "Let's go before somebody sees us."  
Harry walked over to one of the taps and bent over. He opened his mouth but before he could say a word he was tapped on the back. "What?"  
Renata stood behind him. "Do you plan to tell me that you are going to slide down a very steep chute without anyway of climbing back up later?"  
He was speechless.  
"I thought so. Ron was telling us about the last time you went into the Chamber. We've brought a way out." She extracted several bottles of thick green goo. "This stuff will let us climb right back up." She passed a bottle to each of her friends. "Let's go."  
"Bye Myrtle!"  
Harry knelt down by the tap and looked at the scratchy carving of a tiny snake with emerald eyes. Pretending the snake was real so he would be able to speak Parseltongue. He hissed, "Open up." The sink slid away revealing a pipe large enough for a man to slide down. "I'll go first." Harry volunteered. Before anyone could object Harry slid down. There was a lot of rushing air before he landed on the ground far below with a thud. He scrambled out of the way because just after him came Renata, Hermione, and Ron. "Well, let's get going." It was dark. "Lumos!"  
There was a large heap of empty reptile skins that in years passed had been shed by the gigantic Basilisk.  
They walked until they came to a large blockade of boulders with only one whole, which might be climbed through, but none of them would fit.  
"We won't fit through the hole!"  
"I guess we need to start digging. When we made this whole it was for twelve year olds, not fifteen year olds."  
It was tedious and hard work but they managed a sizable gap in the pile and squirmed through to the other side.  
When they got through they rested a short bit. "We've got to move on."  
They wandered onward through seemingly endless columns that reached the immense ceiling. Then they saw it. Someone among them screamed.  
It was a decomposing Basilisk. It had been killed three years back and much of it still remained.  
They had reached the end of the Chamber still had encountered no thing that breathed.  
"We don't seem to have had much luck here," Renata stated, her voice echoing.  
"We need to make sure there aren't any tunnels leading out of here. Then we can go back."  
They searched the walls for nearly half an hour before Hermione gave a cry, "Look!" She brushed away some scum from a section of wall revealing a circle half a foot in diameter with the Slytherin snake on it. But that wasn't all.  
The snake was squeezing the Gryffindor lion making it immobile, while whipping it with its tail and sinking its poisonous teeth in its neck; though at the same time the lion's claws were embedded in the snake's long back and the mouth of the lion was open in what would be a terrifying roar had the picture been given a voice. It 'twas a gruesome sight indeed.  
Ron examined it closely. "There's words. 'The day will come when the heir of Slytherin will face that of Gryffindor and the stronger shall triumph o'er all. To the victor will the power come, and all the grace and glory. If ye stands here then ye has some part yet to play ere all ends in the final battle. Choose carefully your actions and words, for truths can be spun and twisted in ways unimaginable.' " Ron looked at the others perplexed.  
They seemed as lost as he.  
"What do you think it means?" Harry asked to no one in particular. 


	14. Questions That Need Answers

None of them knew.  
"We can't waste time here trying to figure it out. Does anyone have some parchment or paper? And something to write with?"  
Hermione had a quill but none of them had parchment or ink.  
"Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."  
The others turned but Harry continued to stare at the engraving on the wall moving closer and closer.  
The others turned when they realized he wasn't following. Harry's finger began to trace the carved words and he was murmuring. As he wiped away ancient dust he saw yet another thing carved upon wall just at the bottom of the circle a smallish looking keyhole.  
"What is it Harry?"  
"Did you find something?"  
Harry pointed out the keyhole.  
"I didn't notice that before. Where did it come from?"  
"It was covered with dust, layers and layers of it. Almost as if it was intentionally hidden."  
"Do you really think so?"  
"I'm not sure yet."  
"Well we really need to leave its, 11:30 now and it will be even later by the time we get back," Hermione pointed out.  
"Yeah," added Ron. "We won't be invisible."  
"Let's start walking," Harry told his friends. "I was thinking about that. We could wear the cloak when I go back to the Hospital Wing and then you guys can take it back to Gryffindor Tower and wear it just long enough until right before the Fat Lady would be able to see you then go inside."  
"That sounds like it will work but what about Renata when we take you back to the Hospital? Is there enough room for four people under the cloak? Three has been pretty tight."  
"Its okay. I told you all that night in the forest that I can manage to not be seen," Renata reminded them.  
They came to the blockade of rubble and earth causing a temporary halt in conversation. They continued on their way until they reached the chute they had slid down earlier.  
Renata pulled the last bottle of thick green goo out of her pocket. She unscrewed the lid and smeared the goo on the bottoms of her shoes and then on her hands. The others followed her example. Then they began the laborious climb up the inside of the chute. The Chamber was miles under the school and the climb back was exhausting. Only three times did they rest and the rests were not of much comfort because they could only be achieved by clogging the pipe with a few large cushions conjured by Hermione and held in place with a freezing spell and removing them when each break was over. They were all breathless when they reached the top.  
The four sat panting when they were back in the bathroom.  
"Hey I don't hear Myrtle crying."  
"You're right."  
They checked and Myrtle was nowhere in sight.  
"That's funny she doesn't usually leave here," remarked Hermione.  
"Ocassionaly she does," said Harry. "Come on let's put the tap back."  
When the sink was back in place Renata extracted something blue, in the shape of a circle, slightly squishy and the size of her thumbnail out of her pocket. "I'm going to disappear now but I'll be right behind all of you."  
"But Renata you won't be able to see us," Ron pointed out.  
"Then, I'll turn invisible, grab someone's hand, then the rest of you can put the cloak on. How's that?"  
Harry, Ron and Hermione lined up. Renata opened her mouth and stuck the blue thing onto the roof of it. She vanished before their eyes. Harry felt someone grab his hand, someone he couldn't see. Then three of them threw the cloak over themselves and left the bathroom. The trip back to the Hospital Wing was a slow one because they all had to travel together.  
When they reached the Hospital Wing they all listened hard for any voices or footsteps. When they were sure the coast was clear they went inside.  
The four of them slipped behind the curtain around Harry's bed. The duplicate Harry was still lying in the bed. Harry got out from under the cloak and found he couldn't move very far. "Er-Renata could you let go of my hand now?"  
"Um-of course." She hastily dropped his hand and took the blue thing out of her mouth, making a face, which of course they saw now that she was visible. "This thing tastes awful. It always does."  
"What's it made of?" asked Hermione curiously.  
"Uh? Hmm. Lemme think a bit." As she continued to speak she took Harry's hair out of the pocket of the duplicate Harry's pajama pocket and he became a fly once more. "I haven't made one in ages; they last for nearly a year and a half, you know. There was mugwart, pine needles, frog tongue, Bubblegum, and the hair of a Demiguise."  
"The hair of a Demiguise? That's hard to find."  
"I know, it was. Luckily, that's the only hard to find ingredient in it and it can be used again."  
"Its really late and the three of you have class tomorrow, you should be leaving."  
"Okay, pajama-boy, get back in that bed, Mister. You are ill and need your rest," Renata scolded with an evil grin.  
"I re-grew every bone in my arm in a night once, I don't see why I'm still here."  
His friends draped the Invisibility Cloak around themselves.  
Before they pulled the hood over their heads Ron looked back, "How do we wipe the map clean?"  
"Just point your wand at it and say 'Mischief Managed'."  
"Okay."  
"Now, Harry," Renata said turning serious. "Try not to kill yourself while we're gone, 'k?"  
"Sure." Harry stifled a laugh.  
"Attaboy, Harry," she good-naturedly ruffled his hair. "Just promise you won't jump off any brooms," Renata added turning around.  
Hermione tapped an impatient foot. "Okay stop it you two; Harry, you need rest, and Renata, stop teasing him, its not nice. Besides it is late and we have a Transfiguration Quiz tomorrow." They pulled the hood over their heads and without being seen left the Hospital. Harry was still exhausted from the long and luckless search rolled over and fell asleep.  
  
Harry spent most of the next morning completing his work from the past day. Around noon Harry received a visitor. In fact he received two. The first came around half past eleven.  
"Hello Harry! 'ow's it goin'? Yeh feeling alrigh'?"  
Harry shoved the books aside and sat up. "Good morning, Hagrid."  
"Sorry, I couldn' come 'n' see yeh before. I woulda come yesterday bu' when I was comin' they said yeh 'ad already gone to sleep."  
"I was tired yesterday." It was partly true.  
"Guess wot? I'm not s'pposed to tell yeh this bu' I heard Dumbledore'll let yeh leave today."  
"Really?"  
"Tha's wot I heard. Dumbledore, told me he was gonna tell yeh today. Don' tell 'im I told yeh. I gotta go Harry. I got a class to teach. Ginny Weasly's I think."  
"Alright, Hagrid, I'll see you later then."  
"Bye, Harry!"  
Harry sighed and picked up his books again. Harry wasn't too surprised when at quarter past twelve the Headmaster came to see him.  
"Good afternoon, Harry."  
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore."  
"Resting well I see." His eyes twinkled behind their half moon spectacles. "You will be pleased to hear that you may leave the Hospital Wing today."  
"Thank you, Professor."  
"I suspect Hagrid already told you that though."  
"Did you ever find out why I was knocked out so long?"  
"No, Harry, we didn't."  
"Then why am I being allowed to leave the hospital?"  
Dumbledore drew up a chair and sat down by Harry. "Several reasons, Harry. We can find no illness and therefore know no cure. Also you have missed nearly a week of schoolwork and Quiditch practice. You have a lot catching up to do."  
"Professor, did anyone find Neville?"  
"No, Harry. No one has seen him since the night he disappeared. Harry, tonight you may return to your dormitory but why don't you stay here today until your classes are over today?"  
"Thank you, Professor."  
"I'm sure your friends will be down to collect you as soon as they are through with their studies for the day. Goodbye."  
"Bye, Professor."  
  
When Ron, Hermione, and Renata arrived Harry had finished his work and put on his robes, ready to leave when they got there; he had made no attempt with his hair because it was a lost cause any day.  
"Hey, Harry. Happy V-day," Renata called as she came in.  
"What?"  
"V-Day, its Valentines Day. Today's the fourteenth. Did you know the house-elves made all the food at breakfast pink?"  
"They did," confirmed Hermione.  
"I heard everything at dinner tonight will be red."  
"Pink is just sickening," said Renata.  
"Well I'm just glad I get to leave finally." Harry picked up his books, aided by Ron as there were so many of them.  
"So any news on Neville?"  
"Not yet. How did Dumbledore tell the school Neville was gone?"  
Hermione came up to stand next to Harry, slightly shoving aside Renata in the process. "Yesterday he said 'We have some unfortunate news. One of our students, Neville Longbottom of the Gryffindor House, is missing. If anyone knows where he is or what happened to him please report to one of the teachers. Thank you.' And that was all he said on the subject."  
"We'll have to think that one over. In the meantime we've got some time to kill before dinner anybody up for a game of Monopoly?" asked Renata.  
"Monopoly?" asked Ron.  
"It's a Muggle game. Its fun but it takes a while to play. I'll teach you."  
They reached the common room.  
Renata ran up to her dorm to get the game. She came back down moments later. "This was buried pretty far in my trunk."  
"Renata," asked Ron as Renata was dealing out money. "How is it you know so much about Muggle stuff? Like this game."  
Automatically Harry answered. "She's part Muggle."  
Ron looked up at Harry. "How do you know?"  
"She told us she's part Muggle. I don't really remember when though."  
"Half credit for remembering I said it but points off for not knowing when," grinned Renata.  
"What?"  
"Forget it. Everyone choose a little piece here to put on the board then take one of these stacks of money I counted out."  
The car, the boat, the horse, and the shoe were put on the board.  
"Alright. We'll take turns rolling the dice. You move the number of spaces that are on the dice. If you land on an unowned property you can buy it so other people will owe you money when they land on it. If you land on a property that's owned you've got to pay up. When you have all the properties of the same color you can buy houses or hotels to put on them a property, basically if you do that people owe you more cash when they land on it. Got it? Let's play."  
The game went rather slowly as Ron and Harry had never really played before. Harry hadn't played because no one had ever been willing to play with him.  
"Oh yeah I got Boardwalk!" cheered Renata. She started singing under her breath as she moved her shoe to the dark blue space labeled Boardwalk. "These boots are made for walking."  
Ron nudged Harry, "She's cracked."  
"Am not. You sir, now owe me fifty dollars if you should be so unlucky as to land on Boardwalk. Worse the luck once I get Park Place and add houses and a hotel," Renata told Ron.  
"Yeah, yeah. Just give me the dice." Ron rolled the dice. "Pennsylvania Avenue! I'll take it."  
The pieces continued to move around the board and money flew back and forward.  
The last roll before dinner was Harry's. He moved the silver horse piece eight spaces.  
"You landed on Park Place, Harry!"  
"Harry I'll give you twice what that property is worth if you sell it!" cried Renata.  
"Harry don't sell it, she'll be able to get a lot of money out of it."  
Harry thought a moment. The only other properties he had were Marvin Gardens and St. James Place. "Renata, I want the other two yellow properties, the other two orange, and five hundred dollars."  
"You drive a tough bargain but here you go." Renata handed over the five hundred dollars and the four properties.  
"Here's Park Place."  
"Yes! Once I put a hotel on Boardwalk it will be worth $2000 each time someone lands on it. I don't know the exchange of it into galleons or pounds though."  
"Alright already let's go down to dinner," Hermione said standing up.  
"Yeah, c'mon."  
They joined the others going to the Great Hall. As had been predicted most of the food had been turned pink and red. As Harry was about to sit down when he heard a voice behind him.  
"Hi, Harry. How are you? Are you feeling okay?"  
It was Ginny Weasly and she was blushing, a lot.  
"Er-hi, Ginny. I'm fine, I guess."  
"That's good." She sat down next to him bit didn't say a word to him the rest of the meal.  
"Ron?"  
"What, Hermione?" He said through a mouthful of flamingo pink mashed potatoes.  
She seemed about to say something important but just frowned and said, "Ron, you've got some potato on your chin."  
Renata reached over and handed Ron a napkin. "Boy, you're a messy eater," Remarked laughing.  
A few moments later Harry looked over to where Hermione sat beside Renata; he wasn't sure but it seemed to him that Hermione had moved her chair a few inches farther away from Renata. Harry shook his head.  
"What is it?" asked Ron.  
"Nothing. Renata, I'm going to go tell Fred and George that we've got practice as soon as dinner is over. Will you go tell Alicia, Angelina, and Katie?"  
"Why don't you go tell them when you tell Fred and George? They are all sitting pretty close."  
Harry didn't reply.  
"Fine, you big baby. I'll go tell all five of them." Renata got up and walked to where the other Quiditch members were sitting. Harry followed her. "Alright, the Captain here," Renata jerked her head toward Harry, "Says we got practice as soon as dinner is over. Okay, you two, what's wrong?"  
Fred and George were wearing glum expressions, but knowing them it could easily be some sort of joke.  
"The girls didn't want to give us Valentines Day kisses."  
"Is that all? Here." She stuck her hands in her pockets and pulled out a handful of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses. "Hershey's Chocolate Kisses. Knock yourself out."  
She went back to her seat and after a moment the twins stuffed the chocolates in their mouths.  
When Harry was back in his seat Ron asked, "What was that about?"  
"Your crazy brothers." Harry looked over and the twins were smiling and they had several pieces of foil fitted on their noses.  
When the meal was over Harry and Renata said goodbye to Ron and Hermione.  
Renata called, "Don't mess up the Monopoly board while I'm gone!"  
The seven members on the Gryffindor team made their way through the Great Hall and out onto the Quiditch field. "Alright, I've been gone nearly a week how has practice been?"  
"Grueling," proclaimed Fred.  
"Absolutely exhausting," announced George.  
"I'm sure." Harry said sarcastically.  
Katie spoke up. "That's not fair to say Harry. We had one easy practice led by Fred and George but then Renata made us come to three more and they were really hard."  
"Sorry. I just really want to win that match against Slytherin."  
"We will."  
"Then after that we'll go on to win the match against they Angels Academy."  
Renata grinned. "I'd like to see how that team has been keeping up without me. That is, if my old team wins to play against us."  
"Let's start practice." They flew around the field for two hours; catching and throwing the Quaffle, dodging and hitting Bludgers, and catching the Snitch. It was a good, long practice.  
"I'll put the balls back in the shed, the rest of you can go inside." Harry told them.  
Renata came over. "Here, I'll help with the box." She grabbed one end of the wooden crate. "Harry, is it just me or did Hermione seem a bit distant at dinner?"  
"I dunno."  
"She seemed upset and mad at me."  
Harry locked up the shed. "I don't know what to say."  
"Well obviously you're no help," she shook her head. "C'mon let's go in then."  
They reached the common room and wanted to resume the board game but Hermione insisted they all had too much homework. They were working late into the night. Hermione, after finishing her homework had begun studying for the O.W.L.s.  
"Hermione, you've been studying since mid-January. We don't take the tests 'til the end of the year," complained Ron.  
"Well I've got to study everything we've learned since coming here, don't I! I should have started studying at Christmas. Why didn't I?" She returned to her book.  
As it grew later people left the common room to go to bed. Harry and Ron left Hermione and Renata as the only ones in the room. Renata wasn't really studying anymore; she just wanted to make sure Hermione didn't stay downstairs all night.  
Harry had just put his pajamas on when he realized he had left his particularly hard Transfiguration assignment on the table. He did not want to have to redo it so he started down the stairs. He was almost at the bottom of the steps when he heard voices. One seemed angry, the other relatively calm but a bit confused.  
"Why do you always hang around him then?" Hermione asked angrily.  
"I'm not interested in him," came Renata's reply. "Why are you mad at me? I thought we were friends, Hermione."  
"You're trying to replace me," mumbled Hermione.  
"Hermione, come on, you're my best friend. I wouldn't do something like that."  
"Then why do you hang around him so much?"  
"What are you talking about Hermione? The four of us hang out. It's all friendly. Isn't it? You, me, Harry and Ron, we're all friends."  
"Well.!"  
"Hermione calm down. You are just really stressed out and I for one don't blame you on it. I mean, come on. We are all upset. Between studying, and the attack last week, Harry's health and now Neville missing too. We are all a bit on the high tension side right now."  
Harry heard someone sobbing.  
"Come on, Hermione. I think you need to get to bed now. It's been a long week and a hard day." Harry briefly looked down to see Renata leading Hermione up the girls' staircase. When they were gone Harry went down to get his homework. He sat in front of the fire for a few minutes thinking about what he heard and coming to no logical conclusion. He went back upstairs and went to sleep.  
Harry had had trouble deciding whether or not to tell Ron about the argument he had heard. He decided against it.  
Harry woke up and got dressed. He would be going to his lessons today. He groaned.  
On the way down to breakfast Harry saw Seamus and Dean.  
"Hi, Harry."  
"Long time no see. You were gone nearly a week and we didn't see much of you yesterday. How've you been?"  
"Not bad." He saw Ron and Hermione standing off to the side with Renata. "I'll see you two in class." Harry moved off to walk with the others the rest of the way to breakfast and to a very easy first day back.  
In Herbology they pruned the singing tulips. History of Magic they took dull notes about a witch named Catalina. The day ended with a review of calling charms in Professor Flitwick's class.  
  
The next day however, when Harry awoke the dorm was empty. He looked at his watch and realized he had overslept. He hurriedly got dressed and went down to breakfast.  
"Hey, glad to see you're awake," Renata said.  
"Well, I didn't see any reason to wake up. We've got Snape first thing," replied Harry.  
"Yeah, but you've got to remember there's always a choice," Renata told him. "You can grin about it and think about the best way to cause trouble in his class or you can gripe about it and think about what the punishment will be when you get caught for making trouble in his class. Then spend detention imagining a swarm of bees attacking him."  
All four of them burst out laughing.  
Renata flashed one of her extremely common grins. "Laughing is after all the best way to start the day y'know. Even a day with Snape."  
After breakfast the Gryffindor fifth years joined the Slytherin fifth years down in the dungeon. Snape came in, "What are you all waiting for? Move along now!"  
As usual Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata chose seats together near the back of class.  
"Today we will be concocting blinding solutions. Take down these notes." He began discussing the ingredients and their importance.  
Ron whispered to Harry, "So what do you think?"  
"About what?"  
I've been talking to you for nearly ten minutes, Harry. Weren't you listening?"  
"Sorry, Ron, my head hurts."  
"Its not your scar, is it, Harry?"  
"No, go back to what you were saying."  
"Never mind, Snape's coming."  
"Weasly, ten points from Gryffindor and add another scoop of beetle eyes. Potter! Add another vile of liquid silver. Longbottom, your potion is- oh he's not here. Good, then maybe the room will stay in one piece today."  
Harry heard Renata whisper to Hermione. "That was malicious. We're all worried sick about Neville and he goes and says that. Its just cruel."  
Hermione nodded.  
Harry made a mental note to ask Renata if she had had any word from her friend Vanessa.  
The rest of the class period passed slowly. Snape, because of Neville's absence kept trying to find someone else to pick on. First it was Renata.  
"Delano! How many rose thorns are supposed to be in this potion?"  
"Sixteen, Professor."  
"How many basil leaves?"  
"None, but you should use three thyme leaves. Oh, and harder questions next time would be nice; unless of course you don't know any, that is."  
"Ten points from Gryffindor for talking back and a detention Delano."  
After that Snape seemed to give up on Renata and he moved on to critizing Harry.  
As soon as they were out of the room, Renata remarked, "If that's the best he can do he's losing his touch. Besides, detention can't be that bad and we can make up the lost points in our next class. Boring, how he always says he's taking ten points, be nice if he varied it with an occasional seven or thirteen."  
"Why were you talking back anyway?"  
"Ah. He'd have taken points and given me a detention anyway; isn't it better if I earn it first? More fun anyway."  
As was to be expected things were much better in Defense Against the Dark Arts class.  
"Today we shall begin our work with shield spells. There are many types of shield spells. There are some that guard you from physically being hurt such as causing a punch to slide off you. But there are other kinds that will protect you from magically being harmed. Can anyone name a type of either of these spells?"  
Hermione's hand shot up. "There's the meter spell, nothing can come within a meter of you for ten minutes after the spell has been performed. Its like they run into an invisible wall."  
"Very good but does that work on physical harm, spell harm, or both?"  
"Only physical. If someone throws a spell at you it will get through."  
"Excellent ten points to Gryffindor."  
They took notes through out the lesson and at the end of class tested the spell. Professor Delano conjured a stack of pillows beside her. "Each of you, please take a pillow and a partner."  
Everyone went in two lines to take pillows. Harry ended up as Renata's partner; Dean and Seamus were together, as were Ron and Hermione, and Lavender and Parvati.  
"Now everyone I want you to take turns practicing the spell. One of you uses the shield spell the other attempts to hit him or her. If the shield works you won't be hit; if it doesn't, well that's why you are using pillows and not rocks. Begin."  
"I'll go first." Harry set up the spell and took a step backward as he rubbed his head. "Ow!"  
"That will teach you to do the spell right. Look, Harry, you skipped the middle part, blockadoris. Now is it really that hard?" Renata performed the spell and dared Harry to hit her with a book.  
"No. I don't hit girls. I'm only throwing this pillow at you because it's a class assignment."  
"You 'don't hit girls'? What are we weaker than you? I think that sore head of yours will say something about that if you don't get the spell right next time, now throw that at me."  
Harry picked up the pillow. His aim was off and he missed her by a foot and a half.  
"What was that? I'm not standing over there! Hit me."  
He picked up her pillow and this time his aim was true but a meter in front of Renata the pillow seemed to hit an invisible something and slide down.  
"Much better throw. My turn."  
They switched off several times and each time Harry was still getting hit in the face.  
"Harry, you've got to twitch your wand." The pillow hit Harry in the stomach.  
"Harry, its pronounced en-vor-toll-is." He was hit in the leg.  
"Harry."  
She threw the pillow at him, this time it slid down more than three feet away.  
"Harry.well done."  
Harry looked over to where Dean and Seamus were. Dean was kicking the pillow like a soccer ball and it seemed to hit Seamus's face nearly every time.  
By the time the Professor dismissed the class almost all of them had mastered the spell.  
After lunch the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins went out onto the grounds to Hagrid's hut.  
Hagrid ran over to Harry. "Got a surprise today. Harry come 'elp me. We're gonna see the centaurs. Yeh remember Bane and Firenze and Ronan? Them an' one o' their friends are gonna come."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Yeh wanna come with me the bring 'em over to everyone?"  
"Okay."  
Hagrid led Harry to the forest. Four centaurs were waiting.  
Harry vaguely recognized Ronan, Firenze, and Bane but there was another totally unknown to him. This one was a tan color and she wore a crown of leaves and flowers.  
Hagrid leaned down. "Harry stay with 'em while I talk to the students." Harry nodded.  
"Greetings, Harry Potter," called Firenze.  
Bane stepped forward, "How can you stand there, Harry Potter? It has been written many times in the stars of your death but yet you stand alive and whole."  
Ronan pawed the ground; "He stands alive because he must." He spoke in his voice full of sorrow as always.  
The other centaur spoke, "I am Aursula, and these are my brothers. Please excuse Bane's hot temper. The stars are not speaking as clearly to him as they once did. As Firenze told you, greetings, Harry Potter."  
"Greetings, Aursula."  
"Harry Potter, I must warn you the stars predict much hardship for you and possible destruction. Do you still plan to face whatever may come?" asked Aursula. She stared in his eyes and he knew he could not lie.  
"I'll try but I don't know that I'll succeed."  
"That is all we can ask of you; for should fail, all free creatures of the world are doomed."  
Ronan murmured, "So much shall rest on such young shoulders."  
It was then that Hagrid came back. "Let's go."  
The centaurs told the class about how the stars told them of the future and the story of when centaurs first came to the forest at Hogwarts. When Draco Malfoy was sniggering Bane held his shoulders and kicked him with a hoofed leg, hard enough but not too hard.  
Then class was over. Harry felt a strong arm pull him back. It was Firenze.  
"Come to the edge of the forest at midnight if you wish to learn more of your destiny. Come alone or you shall not be able to find us." All four centaurs disappeared into the trees.  
Harry caught up with his friends.  
"What is it Harry?"  
"The centaurs." In a quiet voice Harry told his friends what the centaurs had told him before they spoke to the class and what Firenze had said after.  
Fifteen minutes later in a corner of the common room the four of them were going over the details.  
Renata had the most questions, as she had never heard of when Harry met the centaurs in his first year. "Okay, so you met three of these centaurs in your first year. That's all of them, except the girl.what was her name?"  
"Aursula."  
"Right. So the four of them were ranting about your destruction, you all went over to the class, they talked to us and then they told you to meet them alone in a dangerous forest in the middle of the night. Are you actually going to go?"  
"I think so. But they weren't ranting. Bane said the stars predicted my death many times and he couldn't understand how I was still here. Then Ronan said I was here because I had to be. Then Aursula told me that I would have a lot of problems ahead of me and she asked if I would face them."  
"What did you say?"  
"She had these eyes you couldn't lie to. I told her I would try."  
"What did she say?" Hermione asked quietly.  
"If I failed.the free world would be at an end."  
Renata, with her head bowed, asked once more: "Will you go?" She looked up straight into Harry's emerald green eyes.  
Harry couldn't speak.  
Ron and Hermione looking at him, as well as Renata staring in his eyes, all knew his answer without a single word being spoken.  
Harry could take it no longer. He stood up and left. Renata rose to go after him but was held back with gentle but firm hands on each shoulder.  
"He needs to be alone."  
Harry heard the words and was grateful. He needed somewhere to be alone. For nearly an hour he walked around the castle not speaking to anyone nor paying attention to where his feet took him. Harry ended up in front of a set of stairs he had never seen before. Throwing aside any possible caution Harry continued on up the stairs.  
The room Harry entered was strange. There were newspapers everywhere, empty bottles of ink, and a few old wooden chairs. Thick dust covered everything.  
Harry stepped into the room fully and heard the door slam behind him. He turned, seeing no one he went to inspect the newspapers. He expected to find plethora of old issues from the Daily Prophet, but they weren't. 


	15. The Tower

About half of the newspapers appeared to be Muggle papers from allover England: Kent, Bristol, Manchester, London, there were even a few from his own hometown. But what were they all doing here?  
Harry continued searching. There were wizard newspapers too, but they weren't from the Daily Prophet. Harry picked one up and began to read it.  
  
The Order has been working tirelessly to keep peace and yet we  
are faced with another tragedy. In service to the Order our brother  
John Figg died. Following her husband's death Arabella Figg re-swore  
her allegiance to the Order. She is now stationing herself disguised  
as a Muggle in a Muggle town. If you wish to contact her residence  
will be on number 12 Privet Drive. She is posing as an ordinary Muggle  
so if anyone from the Order needs to see her to relay any business  
messages pertaining to the Order tell her in advance if possible and  
be sure to appear as normal as possible to any Muggle who happens to  
see you.  
--Starliner  
  
Harry looked to the top of the paper. The date was December 2.13 years ago! Who was Starliner? That didn't seem like a real name, probably a pseudonym. Harry looked to the name of the paper "Chickadee Press." Harry picked up more papers and looked through them. Some of the papers went back twenty years. The newest ones were no newer than fifteen or fourteen years.  
  
Harry had intended to read a Muggle paper next to discover why they were there but left the Muggle papers where they were for the time being and continued with the wizard ones. The Chickadee Press papers appeared to mostly be written by Starliner, Featherflyer, Newhope, Bumblebee, and Dreamer. Harry picked up another by Starliner, October 11, fourteen years ago:  
  
Things are becoming dangerous. Several members of the Order may  
go into hiding soon. Some already have, those who know where any  
brothers or sisters belonging to our Order are please, tell no one. If  
their secrets are kept we can all continue to keep working. If we all  
do our part peace can and will be restored to the wizarding world, if  
not even the Muggles will know. Please, everyone keep up your work and  
do your assignments to keep the others from coming to more harm. --  
Starliner.  
  
Harry looked up as he heard faint footsteps. The only other way out was the window, twenty feet up. Harry took out his wand and desperately tied to gain at least a few feet with a levitation spell, but nothing happened. With no other choice Harry ducked behind a stack of papers. He waited as the footsteps grew louder and he could hear muffled voices.  
"Follow me."  
"Why now? After so long."  
"I wouldn't have called you all if it wasn't absolutely necessary."  
"Hear that Fletcher? Listen to Albus."  
"Thank you. Everyone, try not to breathe for a moment we are likely to encounter much dust." The Headmaster opened the door and didn't receive as much dust as he had expected.  
Peering around from the newspapers Harry saw Dumbledore stick out an arm to stop someone from entering.  
The man being held by Dumbledore asked, "What is wrong with you, man? Do not hold me back." He coughed. "Why haven't you kept this room clean? Its no more work than the twitch of a wand."  
Someone behind him spoke. "Mundungus Fletcher, I'm surprised. Don't you remember that for the safe keeping of everyone here no magic can be used in this room?"  
"I thought that was just a rule," replied Mundungus Fletcher.  
Dumbledore spoke quietly. "No, the last spell successfully performed in this room was one that allowed no magic to work here. I stopped you all here because I wanted you to take note of something."  
Silently Harry hoped no one had seen him.  
"Do you see the footprints here in the dust? Do you see the dust that is missing from several newspapers? Someone was or is here. Wait." Dumbledore stepped inside. He followed the footprints to the stack of newspapers that Harry was behind.  
Harry knew he would be found so he stood up. He put his wand down as a sign that he wasn't trying to hurt anyone.  
The others had stepped in the room, eleven in all, Dumbledore included. Someone from the back spoke up, "He's a spy!"  
Another spoke, "That's no spy! That's Harry Potter."  
"Harry Potter?" asked another doubtfully.  
Harry nodded.  
Dumbledore looked to Harry, "What brings you here, Harry?"  
"I was just looking around the school, walking. Then I found the room and I came to sit down for a while."  
"Very well Harry. You may stay. Help us turnover these chairs."  
Together the twelve of them each turned over a chair and they all sat down. Harry looked around at all of the solemn faces and was surprised at the number of them he recognized. There was Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin, Mrs. Figg, Professor Delano, McGonagall, Snape, and the man that they had called Mundungus Fletcher. The other three he had never heard of or met.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "You all know why we are here."  
Harry looked up meekly, "I don't."  
Sirius looked at him, "Harry, from the looks of it you've read a few of the papers from here. Didn't you understand them?"  
Harry thought a moment. "I only read a few but the papers were from the dark days. They talked about going into hiding and deaths." He understood.  
"Yes Voldemort has become powerful again Harry. You know this already though." Dumbledore went on to explain the escape of the prisoners of Azkaban, the departure of the Dementors, the attack on Harry and the capture of Neville. "Six of you have been members of the Order since before the end of the dark days. You other three are new."  
Harry spoke up, "What is the Order?"  
"We are the Order of the Phoenix, Harry. Sworn against Voldemort we work to restore peace."  
"You said some members are new. Who are the others that aren't here now?"  
"Were, Harry." Corrected Lupin. "Lily and James Potter, John Figg, the Longbottoms and Rosemarie."  
"Who was she?"  
"My sister," answered Snape.  
Harry was shocked. He wasn't aware Snape had any sisters.  
"Rosemarie was beautiful. She was kind and honest too. But because of this she easily deceived by black-hearted Death Eaters. Her husband never forgave himself for not being home when she was attacked. I wish I had been there for her, or one of us." Snape's voice was cold at the memory of his sister being tortured and killed.  
Mrs. Figg patted his back. "Argus and you both need to forgive yourselves Severus."  
"Alright, we must make some decisions," declared McGonagall. "Otherwise it will be necessary to meet again sooner than we planned."  
One of the women spoke up. "That's right. Who's going to do the writing for the paper? Our two main journalists are no longer with us. Bella, will you continue writing? Albus? Jen?"  
Arabella Figg nodded. "I'll do some of the writing but I can't do most of it."  
Dumbledore shook his head, "I can't, not now. Maybe an occasional message or so but I am undergoing several projects for the Order."  
"We understand," answered Professor Delano. "I can manage some but I was never as inspiring as Lily. Couldn't you do any of the writing Sirius? You were always good with words."  
"I will. For the Order, for Lily and James, for Harry, I'll do it."  
"Thank you."  
"We need to update the list of people to send the papers to. Who can we trust?"  
"No one," muttered Mundungus.  
"Fletcher, if you're going to be negative we can manage without you, you know." Mrs. Figg gave him a severe look.  
"Yes," said Snape. "Be careful with whom you trust because everyone's dangerous."  
"I know that Severus, and some people shouldn't even be here," retorted Mundungus.  
Severus snarled, "Fletcher I know you have your secrets."  
Mrs. Figg stared at them bother severely. "Both of you cut it out. We all have our secrets, revealed in due time, should any of us choose to divulge them. Second chances exist; they should and are given so just deal with it. Now if neither of you can get back to the matter at hand you may both leave." Neither moved. "That's what I thought. Now, who do we know is trustworthy?"  
"The Diggorys," replied Professor Delano firmly.  
"What about the Diggles?"  
"Yes, and the Brocktrees?"  
"Most certainly. Of course the Ferrills as well."  
Lupin stood. "This isn't going to get us anywhere. We're just coming up with random names. You could easily miss people. Start with the families of people from the school, then Ministry Officials, and on like that or we'll miss people."  
"Absolutely," Mrs. Figg said. "Who do you recommend from school keep in mind that these should be families you have known and met so you know they can be trusted?"  
"The Weaslys. And, if Muggle families are allowed, the Grangers," suggested Harry.  
"Muggle contacts with wizard relatives are always helpful."  
They spent hours running through the lists. Finally they were through. "Harry, don't talk to anyone about this."  
"What about Ron and Hermione? Their families will know. Can't they? And what about Renata?"  
Uneasy glances passed among the adults. "We hadn't intended for any students to know, Harry."  
"The last time students discovered us we gained several members to the Order."  
"Which turned out to be good."  
"But at the same time, unfortunate."  
"Yes, but back to the question."  
"Potter," Snape said. "How do we know your friends can keep secrets?"  
Dumbledore answered for him. "Severus," he stared hard at the potions master. "Ron and Hermione are loyal, as is Renata in addition to the fact that she the daughter of a member of the Order. They can be trusted. Is anyone hungry?" He instructed anyone who was hungry on the way to find the kitchen and whispered to Harry, "We missed dinner but you will find the house-elves are extremely helpful."  
Not many members of the Order felt like staying around and those who did stay were teachers at Hogwarts and just decided to eat in their studies. So Harry was given time to think as he made his way down to the kitchens. He tickled the pear in the giant picture of fruit and stepped inside. Harry asked for a sandwich and something to drink and left with a sandwich, roasted corn, a brownie, a plate of chocolate cookies and a flagon of juice; the elves also wanted to add tea, biscuits, scones, and some other stuff but Harry said they had already given him more than he could eat.  
Harry made the long trek back to Gryffindor Tower and was glad there was no Quiditch practice that night. He only had four hours before he had to meet the centaurs and he desperately needed to think. His walk had given him more to sort out rather than easing his mind.  
He reached the common room and before Hermione and Renata could stop him Ron asked, "Where've you been Harry? It's been hours."  
"Thinking. Talking. Listening."  
"A little plainer please," said Renata.  
He shook his head. They tried several times to get him to say what was on his mind but he refused to. Eventually they stopped bothering to try and talked about anything else. At last the appointed hour drew near.  
"Harry you don't have much time until you need to go down to the forest," reminded Hermione.  
"Are you sure you don't want us to come?" asked Ron.  
"I need to go by myself," Harry told them firmly.  
Renata sighed. "Then we'll be waiting here for you."  
At eleven thirty Harry left the emptying common room to retrieve his invisibility cloak. Once up there he decided to take the sweater Mrs. Weasly had given him for Christmas as well, it would be cold outside.  
He went back to the common room wearing both the sweater and the cloak. As they had agreed Renata was gone and would open the portrait door for him in a few minutes.  
Harry waited by the door and when it opened he slipped past Renata as she whispered, "Good luck, Harry."  
Harry walked the familiar paths out of the castle to the forest on the grounds. He came to the forest's edge with only two minutes to go until midnight. He waited. With only a minute to go and no lights on in Hagrid's hut Harry removed the invisibility cloak.  
It wasn't long before a centaur came he stood there a moment. "Are you the one?" He asked Harry.  
"Yes, I am."  
"Follow me then. Stay close behind and do not stray. I am Nemacco"  
Harry followed the dark brown centaur along the path, deeper into the forest than he had ever gone himself. They came upon a clearing.  
There were already five centaurs in it: Aursula, Ronan, Bane, Firenze, and another female wearing a wreath of flowers around her neck.  
"Welcome Harry Potter. Tonight you shall hear the true tale of our coming to this forest and of your fate."  
Six more centaurs joined the six there; the females wore garlands around their necks and they had flowers braided in their hair. When they were all present they assembled in a circle, with Aursula standing in the center. She beckoned to Harry and the circle opened to let him through.  
She spoke in a clear voice. "It is time for you to know the tail that brings us here tonight."  
"I know the story, you told it in class."  
"That is not the true story. The true tale begins with the coming of the founders. We were already here but prepared to move when the founders arrived. Godric Gryffindor came to our leader of the time saying he wished us to stay guarding the forest from those unfriendly. In those days the forest itself was safe, a haven to unicorns and any other animal with no defense. We agreed to stay. Years later Godric came to us again. Trouble had been rising within the school and the forest and the lake. He was planning to do something within the school to help ease the danger though he would not tell us what. In the lake a guardian had been summoned from the deeps, a Kraken was called and given the task of protecting the lake and those who dwelt beneath its waters. But the forest was growing steadily dangerous from forces growing within it and others coming in from outside.  
"Godric pleaded for our help and we could not refuse. We promised to forever stand guard here watchful for all time, never ceasing in our vigilance. When we agreed he told our leader there would be times of peace but also times when we would be called upon for aide. Five times, would we said he: himself, Godric; twice during the wars; then by a young man with many cares on he shoulders; and another young man. He told us of the fifth time. The young man would be of his bloodline, appearance in resemblance to his own, and with the weight of the world on his shoulders at such a young age. Thus was the fifth part of the prophecy."  
"What did the stars say about me?" Harry was beginning to feel nervous.  
"Patience. It is not one of your virtues but something you must indeed learn young one," came the gentle voice of another centaur, an older one.  
Aursula looked to the centaur that had spoken. "The very words I would have spoken, mother." She turned back to Harry. "You are playing with a double edged sword here, Harry Potter; if you're not careful you'll be sliced to pieces. You must be very careful.  
"The stars predicted one would come who seemed almost able to outsmart death itself. Some here felt you should meet Death to see if you could beat it, him, or her whatever the case may be and see if you would win the battle of wits. Do not fret, we have decided against that at such a time. You will have trials ahead of you. Do not turn down the help of those who care for you. Remember also: Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and your true friends closest. Help those who cannot help themselves. In this world no one is ever truly alone but when danger is near it must be the sound of your own voice that soothes you. Go now in peace. Amicari will guide you safely back."  
"You said you would speak to me of my fate laid out by the stars?"  
"I have told you overmuch already but for the sake of you and the others I shall look to the stars and see what I may." All twelve centaurs looked to the sky. They stared for moments never blinking. At last Aursula and the others lowered their heads. "Peculiar. The dragon and the dog are both unusually bright tonight. And the serpent is shaking violently. Mars seems to glow contently. War is to come. This is all I can say for now. Good luck stay with you."  
The centaur known as Amicari, the youngest of them there, walked with Harry. When they were out of earshot the centaur turned to him. "Are you scared? I would be. I'm not brave like my Aunt Aursula or my dad or uncles. Do you have friends? The only other centaur in our group that's my age is really mean and she doesn't like me at all. She wasn't here tonight, a lot of centaurs from the forest here weren't." He appeared to be quite the chatterbox.  
"I've got friends but I would never put them in danger by taking them anywhere if I thought someone was after me."  
"Must be great to have friends. Always looking out for you. Wanting to help you. Share secrets. Must be great."  
He had never really thought about it before. At the Dursleys he had no one but at Hogwarts he was always used to having friends around. "I guess you're right."  
"You guess I am? I am! I wish I had friends. My uncles are great company but they don't really understand me that well. Do you have any uncles?"  
"One, and he's rotten."  
"I've got two. Bane and Firenze. They are really different from each other. Bane- Wait!" he stopped Harry. "Look the castle is right up there and I was supposed to go back when we got to the edge of the Forest. Goodbye Harry!" He waved cheerfully back then galloped off into the woods.  
Harry put on his invisibility cloak and thought about Amicari for a while. He was different than the other centaurs. He seemed speak more freely. Everything the other centaurs said sounded so formal. He also seemed lonely.  
It reminded him of what Aursula had said. But Harry knew that as willing as they would be to face anything that came by Harry he couldn't let them help him. Harry yawned and stumbled on in exhaustion. He was nearly at the Tower and he pulled off the cloak. He approached the Fat Lady. "Fish wings." He had to say it several times before the Fat Lady woke up and heard him. Then she was very grumpy and demanded to know if he was aware of the time. He wasn't and he didn't care, he stepped inside.  
He looked over and saw his friends asleep in the armchairs where they had been waiting. Harry smiled, fell down, and fell asleep.  
"Harry!" whispered a voice. "Wake up!"  
"Wha-?"  
"Sssh! You'll wake them up." Ron jerked his head at the other crimson beds where evidently Seamus and Dean were sleeping. "I'll talk to you later but put your pajamas on before you fall back to sleep." Ron crept back over to his bed.  
Harry looked at his watch and realized it was three in the morning. He put on his pajamas. The last thing he remembered was coming in the common room late and finding his friends had fallen asleep waiting up for him. Then he fell asleep in the common room too. So why was he in the dorm. He was still tired and decided questions could and would wait. He pulled the blankets back over his head.  
When Harry woke up again, at a much more reasonable hour he sought out Ron. He found him downstairs in the common room.  
"Okay so what happened last night?" asked Harry.  
"Why are you asking us?" Hermione frowned. "I think we were all asleep when you came in."  
"You were."  
"Then how did we all get upstairs?" asked Ron.  
Renata smiled. "We were all asleep, Harry. You didn't come in until nearly three in the morning, after all. When you came in you must have been tired. You fell on the floor and immediately started snoozing. The noise woke me up. I used a mobilizing spell. Mobilicorpus actually, quite handy too; its a favorite of mine. When I woke up and saw that all three of you were asleep, Hermione and Ron on chairs and you on the ground I couldn't very well leave you all there. One by one I used the spell to bring you all up to the dorms. Then when I was done I used a calling charm on Ron to make him go to the door, he'd wake up, see that he was in his robes, change and tell Harry to change. When I brought Hermione upstairs I told her to put her pajamas on. Now I've got questions. What happened with the centaurs?"  
Harry told them all about the conversations he had had the night before.  
"Amicari seems interesting. Poor thing's got no friends though," Renata commented.  
"He was the only one who didn't talk so formally."  
"Hmmm.you should be honored you know."  
"Why is that, Hermione?"  
"Well they didn't trust the rest of us the real story of why they were in the forest but they told you."  
"They told Harry because they think he's part of a prophecy."  
"Don't you think he's part of the prophecy?"  
"I think he could be."  
"I'm not so sure that he is. Renata?"  
"Its always a possibility."  
Harry's face colored. "I'll come back when you've all finished deciding who I am!"  
"Aw don't take it so hard Harry," Renata chuckled grabbing his arm pulling him back down to his seat. "Okay now what did they mean when they were talking about you and death?"  
"Something about me outsmarting it, or him or her, or whatever the case may be." They all gave him weird looks. "That's how Aursula said it last night. Then she said that some of them that were there thought that I should face Death in a battle of wits but the majority of them said I wasn't ready to."  
"So the way they are putting it Death is an actually being and not an event or concept," Renata remarked.  
"Er-I guess," answered Harry.  
"And for this temporary time that you are agreeing with me I would like to point out that Aursula said you should accept our help," Renata told him.  
"What do you mean 'temporary time I'm agreeing with you'? Forget it. I'm not going to let any of you get hurt because of me."  
"Harry," Renata looked at him with an odd amusement in her eyes. "To quote the great Meriadoc Brandybuck. 'We're coming with you or following like hounds.' And as Peregrin Took told Elrond, 'Master Elrond you will have to lock me in prison or send me home tied in a sack, for otherwise I shall follow the Company.' Replacing 'Master Elrond' with 'Harry' and 'the Company' with 'you' that is of course."  
"Merry and Pippin, followed and they were trouble makers," Harry pointed out.  
"Useful trouble makers," pointed out Renata.  
Harry sighed, not saying anything.  
Renata straightened in her seat and smiled. "Good. I win."  
Hermione and Ron were feeling left out, "Let's go down to breakfast and then take a walk around the lake."  
"Alright."  
"Sure."  
"Fine by me."  
"Great then let's go." They went down to breakfast. On the way they passed Alicia, Angelina, and Katie.  
Harry told his friends. "I forgot to tell them we've got practice this afternoon."  
Renata laughed. "Scatterbrain."  
Harry went over to the girls. "We've got practice today. Which is better for the three of you? After lunch or after dinner?"  
"After dinner, Harry."  
"Thanks for asking, Harry."  
"See you later Harry."  
"Bye!" Harry went back over to where Renata was standing with Ron and Hermione. "Remind me to tell Fred and George about practice."  
"Didn't you tell anyone when practice was?"  
"I think I told you."  
"No you didn't."  
"Be happy I don't have Saturday practice at the crack of dawn like Wood used to."  
"What's wrong with early morning flying? That's how I started most of my days back home. But then again you can't have an early practice when don't come in until three thirty in the morning."  
"I thought you said three."  
"Same-diff." Renata shrugged.  
Ron and Harry simultaneously asked, "What do you mean 'same-diff'?"  
"Different but close enough to be counted as the same when you don't t really care to much about accuracy when you talk. It's a saying of mine from home."  
Three quarters of an hour later the four of them were circling the lake. "Well my guess is the lake guardian, the Kraken they talked about is the giant squid."  
"And the centaurs guard the forest."  
"So what's guarding the castle, Hermione?"  
"Why do you ask me, Ron?" she blushed slightly.  
"You've read Hogwarts, a History so you know more stuff than we do about the school."  
"Oh. Well, the school is unplottable so it can't be put on a map. You can't Apperate in or out of it. The enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall mirrors the sky outside so an air departure or entering could be seen. What else is there.well that's all I can think of but none of those seem likely to be what Godric did to guard the castle. At least, they aren't what the centaurs were talking about. Whatever they were talking about had to have come at a great personal sacrifice from Godric himself."  
"Yeah, but the problem is figuring out how to find out what it is."  
They sat beneath a tree, silent for a time.  
Throwing a stone into the lake Ron asked, "Harry, are you going to tell us what yesterday was about, so we can help you?"  
"No, I don't want any of you hurt. I want Voldemort dead." His words weighed heavily as he spoke but he meant every one of them. "He has torn apart too many families, he has ruined too many lives, and he has killed too many innocents." Memories and visions once known to him passed through his mind's eye: his parents, Sirius's torturous years in Azkaban, Neville's parents, Neville, Cedric, Snape's sister, Filch who would never forgive himself for his wife's death, the twelve Muggles that Peter Pettigrew killed, Bertha Jorkins, Frank Bryce, all the victims. "It stops here! He won't get away with anymore of it!"  
For two hours Harry sat in silence, his friends not moving or speaking either. Harry's expression was grim. He was worse than angry. Leaning against the tree fuming, he fell asleep.  
He woke to almost inaudible whispers an hour later. He kept his eyes shut and listened.  
"We know what's on his mind now. Let's talk to him," Renata reasoned.  
"He can't know we listened to his thoughts while he was asleep, he's our friend; we shouldn't have, it's not right," Hermione said.  
"Why not? He doesn't need special treatment. Besides two hours of silence watching his seething face is not pleasant."  
"Its wrong to listen to people's thoughts! If he wanted us to know any of this he would have said something, Renata. I'm sure he had reasons for not telling us about yesterday."  
Harry didn't hear Ron's voice but knew he must have taken part because the girls didn't know how to perform the mind reading spell.  
"So what do we do now? Pretend we don't know what we heard?"  
"No, that won't work."  
Ron's voice came in at last. "Shut-up! He just blinked, he's awake."  
"Spying on us, Potter?" asked Renata crossly. She kicked him on his side. "Yes I know you listened to conversations in the hospital by pretending you were still asleep. You don't trust us. Why didn't you tell us anything about yesterday? Why don't you trust us? Why not? And another thing, do you think we don't understand? You aren't the only Voldemort's caused pain but I guess you know that too. Yeah, see if I want to be on your Quiditch team. We're your best friends and you can't just not talk to us like that.  
"Well you know what? You can't afford to lose us because we are your friends. That's why we can talk to you like this and tell you the truth, because we are your friends! Being alone or hanging out with other people, the ones you trust even less than you trust us is your only other option. So go on! Choose! But if you choose us it doesn't necessarily mean we'll take you back, Harry, because d' you know what, Harry? We might not forgive you. You are untrusting, impatient, and pigheaded! And arrogant!" With an angry flare in her smoldering eyes she stormed away at a deliberately slow pace with her head high.  
Harry reached for his wand, perhaps to use the Impediment Curse (a spell he learned last year to slow things down), or perhaps he wanted give her jelly legs and make her fall over. Maybe he would stun her so he wouldn't have to listen to her. All three options had appeal, however he did not get a chance to test any of them. As he reached out for his wand Ron grabbed it and stepped aside.  
Harry was so upset his patience was completely gone. He lost it and the ground around them and Renata shook. He was unnerved for a minute. The last time he had lost his temper and done magic like that without meaning to and without his wand.it was never good. The last time he had done that he had blown up his aunt after having shattered a glass in her hands only a few nights before. Renata, may have been a bit shaken up seeing as the ground beneath her had just had a large upheaval but she didn't let it show and she walked on indifferently as she had before.  
Harry started yelling, at no one in particular, but because Ron and Hermione were the ones still standing there they were his targets. "Who does she think she is? Telling me what to do! She had no right to go listen to my head! Of course I trust my friends but it doesn't mean I tell them everything! What am I supposed to do keep paper with me so I can write notes on everything anyone says to me and hand out copies to everyone? Of course I care about my friends! Who does she think she is? Ron, why did you tell her how to read minds?"  
"I didn't! I didn't know this until today but she read you Divination book when you were in the hospital," Ron yelled back.  
"Why didn't either of you try to stop her? I thought you were my friends."  
Hermione responded. "Harry, we are your friends and so is she. If you." She didn't finish the sentence.  
"What?" Harry barked.  
"Harry, we couldn't stop her once we realized what she was doing. If we did try you could have seriously been hurt," Ron tried to keep his voice level.  
"Really, Ron? Would you like me to tell Hermione what you think of her? Oh, and Hermione, I heard you and Renata talking the night after I was out of the hospital."  
Hermione and Ron were both upset now. They took their wands, and his, with them and left; turning back to him just long enough to send Harry into the topmost branches of the tree and to take his wand with them.  
Harry couldn't do anything and waited in the tree. Harry, at this point discovered that unfortunately hindsight is usually 20/20. All his friends were now mad at him, he didn't have his wand, and he was stuck in a tree. Although, considering his present mood maybe it was a good thing he didn't have his wand with him. It was Harry's misfortune that the first people to pass by the tree were a group of Slytherins.  
"Potter! What are you doing in a tree? Look everyone! Potter here thinks he's a birdie!"  
"Sing us a song, birdie!"  
"Tweet, tweet!"  
The jeering calls went on for nearly ten minutes. Fred and George came out of the castle. "Halloo! Who's that in the tree?"  
George answered his twin's question. "Its Harry!"  
Harry had been ignoring the Slytherins but he couldn't help feeling hopeful that Fred or George would get him down.  
"A little help would be nice," called Harry.  
"Where's your wand?"  
"How did you get up there?"  
"Hermione and Ron played a trick on me and took my wand and sent me to these branches. Will you help or not?"  
"What do you think, Fred?"  
"I don't know, George? Should we help the bloke out?"  
"I think so."  
"Alright you feather brains out of the way." They shoved aside the Slytherins at the base of the tree.  
"Go on now."  
"Harry, how exactly do you want us to help you down? You're pretty high up you know."  
"Gee, I hadn't noticed," he called sarcastically.  
"If you're going to be like that we can invite your Slytherin buds back over here."  
"Sounds fine with me," said Fred. The walked away and told the Slytherins they could go back then stood around the tree themselves.  
It was another ten minutes before Hagrid came out of his hut and came over, seeing the group huddled around the tree.  
"What's this?"  
"Hagrid could you help me down? Please?"  
"Harry? Alrigh'. You lot, get!" He shooed away the Slytherins. Fred and George were leaving too but he grabbed them by the collars. "No yeh don't!" He grabbed one of them and hoisted him on his shoulders so he could get to Harry. Fred helped to pull Harry down. Hagrid then told the twins to get going to dinner. Harry said he'd rather stay outside. "C'mon we'll go have some tea." They walked back. "So what was that about?"  
"I got in a fight with Ron, Hermione, and Renata. Renata stormed off and then Ron and Hermione took my wand and sent me into the tree."  
"Must've been bad ter make 'em all mad at yeh."  
"I guess."  
"Yeh wanna talk about it, Harry?"  
"Not really right now, Hagrid."  
"'kay, jus' askin'. Always open down here if yeh need an ear, Harry."  
"I know Hagrid. Thanks."  
"Anytime yeh know."  
"Thanks. I'm going back to the castle now." 


	16. Fight

Quiditch practice that night was silent and seemed incredibly long. Harry wasn't talking to Renata, he didn't want to talk to the twins, and being in such a sullen mood he didn't want to talk to the others either.  
At the end of practice Fred and George came over.  
"It was just a joke."  
"We would've let you down from the tree eventually."  
Harry did respond and just walked straight passed them.  
As soon as he reached the common room he went to the dorm and took out the latest book Renata had loaned him, another Tolkien, The Lost Roads. He had only just started it and wanted to keep reading it but instead he went back to the common room and he threw the book at Renata. He received no good-natured comments or laughter; he hadn't expected any. He stalked off to do his homework.  
For nearly a week Harry neither talked nor sat near his friends. He spent his afternoons flying alone or researching anything that might help discover what Godric's sacrifice to the castle was. Harry spent his nights at Quiditch practice or doing homework. By Friday even his teachers had noticed the foul disposition he had of late.  
Harry had gotten in fights with Ron before, he'd gotten in fights with Hermione before as well. But he'd never been in a fight with both at the same time. It was lonely this way: he sat alone and he barely spoke to anyone.  
Snape dealt with it by being especially cruel, taunting him at every turn. He took fifteen points from Gryffindor by the end of class.  
Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't much better. They were working on a form of the stunning spell and Harry seemed to be having a block with it. He had been paired with Seamus Finnigan and after the first few tries Seamus was able to pause Harry in his tracks and bring him back to him. Harry had never had trouble with stunning spells before but today he couldn't even freeze Seamus once. At the end of class Professor Delano asked to speak with Harry.  
"You seem to be having some trouble with this spell. Is anything wrong?"  
"No."  
"Are you sure? You seem preoccupied."  
"I'm fine."  
"Would you like me to ask another student to help you with the spell? Hermione perhaps? She seems to grasp most of the spells quite easily."  
"No. I don't need any help."  
"Alright. You may go then."  
By the time his Magical Creatures class started, Harry was beginning to wish he wasn't in all the same classes as Ron.  
Hagrid noticed that Harry seemed upset. He almost paired him with Ron, Hermione, or Renata but it didn't seem to make any of them happy so Hagrid asked Harry to help him instead.  
"Still mad at each other, eh?"  
"Yeah, and its their fault."  
"I don't think they'd agree with yeh Harry."  
"What makes you say that?" He continued stuffing lettuce down then throat of a giant winged worm.  
"Cos, they came ter see me."  
"Without telling me!"  
"They didn' have ter tell yeh, Harry. Besides, they said yeh aren't on speakin' terms with 'em right now. How could they tell yeh?"  
"That's because they owe me an apology."  
"They told me it's the other way around. You started yellin' at them."  
"They read my mind and then stuck me in a tree without my wand!"  
"Before 'r yeh yelled at 'em?"  
"They read my mind before I yelled at them."  
"Why'd they do that?"  
Harry thought a moment. "I don't know. I never asked."  
"Maybe you should've. They're yer friends, they worry 'bout yeh, an' care a whole lot about yeh. At least as much as yeh care abou' them."  
Harry was silent so Hagrid continued.  
"They're jus' lookin' out for yeh after all. Nobody can face life alone, yeh know. That's why there're other people here. To give us advice, help us, and ter be our friends. The world is dangerous yeh know and sometimes we're blind ter the danger an' trouble so we need people to open our eyes."  
Harry thought about Hagrid's words the rest of the day. Much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Hagrid was right. Harry sighed. Now that he'd admitted it to himself, he would have to do the equally hard, if not harder task of admitting it to his friends.  
He tried to decide whom to talk to first. Hermione would be easiest. She had gotten in plenty of fights with he had Ron. Where would she be? The library.  
Harry left in search of her. He found her reading a large tome about plants and fungi. She must have heard him come but she didn't look up at him. Several minutes later they still stood in silence; or rather Harry was awkwardly standing and she was seated with a book.  
"Hermione?"  
She ignored him.  
"Hermione, you may not want to talk to me but at least hear me out."  
Still nothing.  
"Hermione, I'm here to apologize."  
She looked up. "Okay, start talking."  
"I'm sorry. I guess you guys were looking out for me and I just exploded. I shouldn't have kept any secrets from any of you."  
"I can understand why you did. It's your own business how much you tell us about you're parents past. Whether you wanted to say anything about them being in the Order was up to you and we really should have waited until you were ready to tell us about the Tower and the Papers. I'd like to see the papers written by your parents sometime."  
"Maybe I'll show them to you if I go back to that Tower. But if you find the Tower yourself, my mom was Starliner and my dad was Featherflyer. I don't know why he didn't just stick to Prongs though."  
"Apology accepted."  
"I've got a few more to take care too. Any idea where Ron is?"  
"Probably the common room."  
"Thanks." Harry left the library. One down, but still two more to go.  
He found Ron in the common room, building a card castle with his Exploding Snap cards.  
"Hey Ron."  
"What do you want? I'm in the middle of something."  
"Look Ron, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you guys."  
"I forgive you. I'm sorry too, for not stopping Renata."  
"Forget it. You just keeping her from messing up the spell and messing up my head."  
Ron grinned. "Yeah it's messed up enough already. So what did you mean by 'I know how you feel about Hermione'?"  
"Oh, that was nothing. Really."  
Ron frowned a minute then changed to a grin. "Here help with this castle. So what did you mean last week about overhearing Hermione and Renata talking after you came out of the hospital?"  
"Oh. After we went up to the dorm that night I came back down the stairs to get my Transfiguration homework and I stopped on the stairs when I heard Renata and Hermione having a fight. I came down to get my work once they were gone but I still didn't understand their argument."  
"What do you think it was about?"  
"They were arguing about someone. Then Renata said that Hermione was just upset and really stressed out."  
"Hmmm."  
"I need to look for Renata. Do you know where she is?"  
"I think she left awhile ago to go flying."  
"Okay, thanks." Harry went upstairs to get his broom and came down.  
Okay, he thought as he made his way down the steps of the castle with his broom over his shoulder, only one apology left. And it was the hardest one. Things should be easier if they were flying. If she ignored him now he'd just wait to talk to her until after Quiditch practice. Harry went to the Quiditch stadium and found it empty.  
He emerged from it and looked skyward. He saw a speck soaring above. Must be Renata.  
Harry launched himself into the air on his broom. His Firebolt could catch up to her.  
He flew close enough to see her face, "Renata!"  
She didn't respond.  
"Renata! I need to talk to you!"  
She sped her broom away.  
Fine, be that way, he thought. He could tell this wouldn't be easy. Harry sped up the broom flying closer to her. "Renata! Cut it out already!"  
She kept flying.  
"I can't talk to you if you won't stop!"  
At last she answered. "You have to catch me first!" She flew in loops and circles. At last, seeing Harry wouldn't give up she flew back toward the castle and landed on top of one of the towers.  
They waited a minute to catch their breath, and then Renata spoke.  
"So you said you wanted to say something, what is it? I'm listening."  
"I'm sorry."  
"Why are you apologizing?"  
Harry looked at her as if she was crazy.  
She answered, she had gained back her old humor but her voice was still icy. "You can't apologize without knowing what you did wrong. If you don't know, well, then your apology is worthless and pointless."  
"You really don't want to make this easy, do you?"  
She tossed her head. "Of course not. Why should I? I've no reason to, and you know it."  
Harry couldn't help grinning just a little. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you all where I was last Friday."  
"Go on."  
"You weren't kidding when you said you weren't going to make this easy. Everything you said about me was true. I'm impatient and stubborn."  
"And arrogant," she reminded him.  
"You really think so?"  
"Just a little. You gotta learn when to say, 'Help me please, somebody, I can't do this alone.' You can't face the world by yourself Harry. No one can. That's why other people exist. And as for keeping secrets, we all do."  
He looked at her skeptically.  
"Of course we do," she said. "Think about it. Your parents switched secret keepers but they didn't tell Dumbledore, they didn't tell Lupin, they didn't tell anyone. You can speak Parseltongue but you don't go shout out to the world 'Hey everybody, I talk to snakes in my spare time.' We all keep secrets, Harry. Its in our nature."  
"Name one thing you never told anybody."  
"When I was four I had a mad crush on Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh. And when I was seven I was sure I fell in love with Peter Pan. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. Okay maybe I'm a bit crazy but everyone is. Come on, you never had a crush on a person who wasn't real?"  
"Don't think so."  
"With all the princesses in those Disney movies you never had a crush on any of them? How about someone from a book? Jasmine? Sleeping Beauty? Belle? Cinderella? Ariel from The Little Mermaid, right? A nice redhead and she sings. Come on, none of them?"  
"I don't get crushes on cartoons. By the way, mermaids look nothing like Ariel."  
"Interesting, I'd love to hear the fascinating story behind that one sometime. As of now I'd have to say Peter Pan. But Frodo Baggins isn't bad either"  
"You are crazy."  
"I know. It's one of the benefits of being me. Now here's one of the other benefits of being me: I'm sorry. See? I know when I'm wrong and need to apologize. I exploded last week too. It wasn't just you."  
"Forget it. Want to go flying before everyone comes out for practice?"  
"I got a better idea. Follow me." Renata, broom between her legs, jumped off the tower. Midair she did a one-eighty turn to face Harry. "Come on, follow me."  
Harry jumped on his broom and followed her. They flew until they reached the Gryffindor Tower. Renata and he waited just to the side of the window.  
"Too bad it's locked," she whispered. "Guess I'll have to knock." She kicked the window with her foot, Harry behind her.  
Renata looked into the window and backed off. "Never mind Harry. Wrong window. Come on the common room window is down this way." They flew down to the window; it was open. Renata whispered, "Good, Hermione and Ron are there. I'm going to fly in and then you fly in right after me. Ha! They are going to so freak. 1.2.3.Go!" Renata flew in the open window, Harry followed closely.  
"Surprise!"  
"Hi!"  
Ron and Hermione came over. "We all friends again?"  
"Sure thing."  
"I'm surprised you both fit through the window."  
"We've got some catching up to do. So why don't we all go eat dinner together now and then we can talk again when Renata and I get back from Quiditch practice."  
"Sounds like a good plan."  
Laughing like he hadn't laughed in a week Harry went down with his friends to the Great Hall walking abreast with their arms draped over each others' shoulders.  
Harry passed Draco, who still hadn't let up about Harry being stuck in the tree.  
"Potter you've got a whole flock of birds now! How lovely!"  
Harry could hear the sniggering Slytherins and he considered ignoring them but came up with a better idea. The whole line of them turned to face the Slytherins and Harry called, "Malfoy! You should just concentrate on walking and try not to let your mind wander. Its too small to be out by itself." Laughing they turned back around. He couldn't see but Harry was almost sure Draco blushed at being made fun of in front of so many people.  
"Nice one, Harry."  
"Thanks."  
They spent the next hour catching up.  
"So did you guys find anything new?"  
"Not yet but we were looking."  
"Me too and I came up blank. Tomorrow I'm going back to the Tower. Do any of you want to come?"  
"Most definitely."  
"Of course."  
"Wouldn't miss it."  
"Great. Renata, we've got to go to practice."  
"Right. We've got to go back to Gryffindor Tower for our brooms first."  
"Right."  
"We're going back to the Tower anyway will walk with you."  
The four of them reached Gryffindor Tower. Harry and Renata went to look for their brooms while Ron and Hermione set up to play Chess. Harry and Renata both came back down to the common room at the same time.  
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"  
"Most definitely."  
Brooms between their legs they jumped out the window.  
They flew down to the Quiditch field where the rest of the team was waiting.  
Harry shouted just for the fun of it. "Everyone start your warm up laps!" Practice was much more relaxed and jovial that night, much more so than it had been the last week.  
At the end of practice Harry and Renata locked the broom shed and walked back up to the castle. They decided they'd be in too much trouble if a professor caught them flying through windows.  
They reached the common room and the four of them discussed how they spent the week.  
It turned out that Ron, Hermione, and Renata hadn't spent much of the week together.  
"I spent a lot of time alone in my room and most of the rest of the time on the Quiditch field. Screaming just for the fun of it, really, it's a great stress reliever you know," Renata told them.  
Hermione said, "I spent most of my time in the library."  
"What about you Ron?" asked Harry.  
"I spent some time with Fred and George."  
Harry asked, "But you guys were all mad at me, not each other. You could have all hung out."  
Renata smiled. "Its your fault the rest of us weren't hanging out you know, Harry."  
Harry jaw dropped in surprise.  
"You gave us an earful to listen to and head-full to think about. More so even after I left from what I hear."  
Harry flushed.  
"Let's hear the message." Renata extracted a small stone from her pocket. "It has got a spell on it. Records whatever it hears when the spell is activated. I listened to the message once through let's listen again. Harry why were you so loud? I had to lower the volume on this thing. All right let's listen. Repitas!"  
The stone emitted barely audible whispers and then Harry's voice rose loud and clear. " 'Who does she think she is? Telling me what to do! She had no right to go listen to my head! Of course I trust my friends but it doesn't mean I tell them everything! What am I supposed to do keep paper with me so I can write notes on everything anyone says to me and hand out copies to everyone? Of course I care about my friends! Who does she think she is? Ron why did you tell her how to read minds!' "  
" 'I didn't! I didn't know this until today but she read you Divination book when you were in the hospital'," Ron's voice called.  
" 'Why didn't either of you try to stop her, I thought you were my friends.' " Harry again.  
Hermione's voice came. " 'Harry we are your friends and so is she. If you.' "  
" 'What?' " Harry's voice demanded.  
" 'Harry we couldn't stop her once we realized what she was doing. If we did try you could have seriously been hurt,' " Ron again.  
" 'Really Ron? Would you like me to tell Hermione what you think of her? Oh, and Hermione, I heard you and Renata talking the night after I was out of the hospital.' " Harry's voice on the stone ended and he spoke.  
"It was right after that that Hermione and Ron sent me into a tree."  
They all laughed.  
Renata stopped laughing long enough to speak again. "What I think is interesting is that last part."  
Harry appeared to color slightly again. "That."  
"No Harry, I understood it. What I am trying to figure out is how much you understood."  
"Which part of the last part? The first or the second?"  
"The second. I can take a good guess at the first but it's really only my opinion."  
"What about the second?"  
"I'll give you a hint: not you."  
Ron nudged Harry, "Would you two mind speaking English?"  
Renata smiled. "Sorry Ron. Just figuring out how well he pays attention."  
The four of them stayed up late talking. Finally Hermione proclaimed she was tired and went upstairs, Ron retired soon after she did.  
Ron asked Harry, "Are you coming?"  
"I'll be up in a minute."  
Ron shrugged and went up to the dorm.  
Renata turned to Harry, "How much do you know?"  
"I didn't hear names."  
"Okay so you came about mid-argument."  
"Wait, I did hear names once. You said 'You, me, Harry and Ron, we're all friends'."  
"Okay, harmless enough."  
"What's your guess about the first part?"  
"Oh, I definitely think you know what I think. And that you agree with me."  
"Why are we still talking like this?"  
"You never know who's on the stairs," she grinned.  
"So, what did you think?"  
"Oh she definitely likes him. That's obvious."  
"She does?" Harry was shocked it had never crossed his mind. "But what about Krum?"  
"Her parents love to travel and they think it's educational for her. They went to France one year and this summer it was Bulgaria. She only spent one day with Viktor Krum while she was there. She watched a Quiditch practice and then her parents, Krum's parents, Krum, and her went out to dinner. Then Hermione told him she just wanted to be friends."  
"I didn't know that."  
"Why would you know that? Harry you've got to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. You'd be surprised how much you miss. A person would think you'd always walked around deaf and blind, eyes and ears should always be open. Goodnight." She went upstairs.  
Harry after a few rather flabbergasted moments Harry went up the boys' staircases and went to sleep. 


	17. Chapter 17, still needs a name

In the morning Ron talked to Harry, "I fell asleep a couple minutes after I came up here. How long was it before you came up?"  
"Only.five or ten minutes I think. We were talking. She is strange."  
"Yeah I figured."  
Harry grinned.  
"So what were you guys talking about?"  
Harry couldn't tell Ron what Hermione thought of him. "She was telling me about cartoon characters that she thinks are cute."  
"Cartoons?"  
"I told you she was strange. She chose Peter Pan."  
"What?"  
"I told you she was strange."  
"No kidding."  
"Come on let's go eat." They met Renata and Hermione downstairs in the Great Hall.  
"So are we looking for the Tower today?"  
"That's the plan."  
"Harry, you remember where it is right?"  
"Yeah, I think so."  
They looked at him.  
"The Tower isn't on the Marauders' Map and I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking when I found it before."  
"This will be a long day. We better start where you know you started Harry. Where did you start?" asked Renata.  
"Gryffindor Tower."  
Renata sighed. "Yup, a long day. We better eat fast and get going."  
Harry led them up to just outside Gryffindor Tower and from there tried to remember which way he had gone. They wandered for nearly two hours.  
"My feet hurt."  
"I'm doing the best I can! I didn't take a direct route to the Tower you know. I wandered around for a while." They walked for a few more minutes. "This is it! These are the stairs. Come on!" Harry raced up the stairs to the door. "Locked! Alohamora! Still locked."  
"Door just needs a little persuasion." Renata knelt by the door handle. "Please. We just want to go into the room. Door, this must be boring. When you're locked no one uses you. Let us in. Abierto, por favor?" She touched the tip of her wand to the door handle and repeated, "Por favor?"  
The door swung open.  
"Gracias." She stood up and brushed off her knees. "What are you guys waiting for? Come in."  
They were all shocked. "How did you know that would work?"  
"Last week I found out that you can't use magic in this room. I guess the no magic thing extends as far as the door."  
"How did you find that out?" asked Harry. "Oh." Of course, Renata had overheard it in his thoughts. The worst part is he'd been asleep and so he had no clue what she'd heard.  
She nodded. "Well there are certain magics that can be done with persuasion of inanimate objects, doors for example. When the persuasion didn't work I remembered that you couldn't use magic here. So I tried to figure out what kind of wood it was. I saw that it was Rosewood. It comes from Central America so I tried speaking to it in a language it knew."  
"You never cease to surprise me." Harry shook his head.  
"Thanks, Harry. I'll take that as a compliment. Let's all look at the newspapers."  
"They're written by Starliner, Featherflyer, Newhope, Bumblebee, and Dreamer," Harry told them.  
"Who do you think they are?"  
"Starliner has to be my mom. I think Featherflyer is my dad. Two of the others are definitely Dumbledore and Mrs. Figg. I think the other one was your mom, Renata."  
"That's interesting."  
"Yeah." Hermione sifted through the papers. "Look at this! It's by Newhope.  
"What does it say?"  
They gathered around Hermione as she read:  
  
We have disturbing news to report as well as wonderful news. Victory  
is at last ours! But it only at a great price. Last night we lost two  
very important and if you are reading this you likely know special  
members of the Order. Lily and James are no longer with us because of  
our enemy, Voldemort, and his supporters. Also, we celebrate our  
victory. We have found Voldemort's sole nemesis: the Potters' young  
son. Harry shall forever in the wizarding world remain a mark of  
Voldemort's downfall. We in this group know his destiny but are sworn  
to reveal it to none. We mourn for Lily and James but know they did  
what was right. When the time comes we can only hope that the next to  
face Voldemort shall be as brave. He is not truly gone yet, only  
delayed, but let the others celebrate and for this time we shall ease  
their hearts. Remember, a time will come when the Order shall be  
called together again. Be ready when the time comes but do not pause  
your life to wait for it-Newhope'  
  
"Look at the date," Harry said quietly "November 1, 1981." The day after his parents' murder. "We better start going through the rest of these papers." They all sat down and got to work, they scanned the papers and set aside ones that looked to be of particular importance.  
It was about midday when at last, exhausted they stumbled upon something useful. Hermione had just finished with a large stack of papers.  
"What's this?" She picked up a small notebook that had been under the last paper. "These look like notes." Indeed the page was covered with notes written in two different handwritings.  
  
Don't you think Snape was being a bit mean to Peter?  
  
Yes, he was, but you didn't have to let Sirius curse him like that. Now Severus is in the hospital and Sirius has detention.  
  
Lily, Snape will be fine. Madam Keratine will keep him in the hospital tonight; give him some medicine and his greasy hair will all be back on his head by morning.  
  
James! It's not nice to talk that way, even about him.  
  
Lily you know he hangs with the wrong crowd. He'll end up in trouble one of these days.  
  
I know but I can't stop thinking that there just possibly might be some hope for him.  
  
You sound just like Dumbledore. Have you finished that article for Dumbledore yet?  
  
It's almost done, James. It, well it just feels like it is missing something.  
  
Don't worry you'll figure it out. Look out Professor Binns is coming over here!  
  
Following this evident written conversation of note passing was several pages of uninteresting notes in Lily's handwriting about the dwarfish mines in Greenland. After that appeared a paragraph that seemed to be thoroughly edited and corrected.  
  
There seems to be a new lead found in our efforts to stop Voldemort and his expanding powers. We seem to have found one the several bases used by Voldemort and his followers. We will not divulge release the location here in the paper but should you care to join our struggling efforts please contact the useful officials, you know who they are so their names and locations shall not be printed here. I leave you with this small note of comfort. At least five Death Eaters have been identified and two were caught and handed over to the Ministry last night. We shall soon be able to tell whether or not the rest of our toil has amounted to achieve what we have hoped for. Until next week I remain your faithful correspondent,  
-Starliner  
  
"Well, Harry, now we know for sure that your mom was writing for this paper."  
"I wonder if my mom had anymore of these notebooks," remarked Harry thoughtfully as he pocketed it.  
"Aren't you going to check more pages for writing?"  
Harry pulled it out of his pocket again and opened to the page after the one he had left off with. More notes continued about various boring witches and wizards throughout the ages. Then at last there was a letter.  
  
Dear Mum and Dad,  
I hope you are well. Things are going fine here. I know you're  
worried but just don't worry about me, I'll be just fine. You know I  
don't go looking for trouble, although I can see how you and the  
teachers disagree with me on that. I'll be fine here. I'll see you  
when the summer holidays start.  
  
Your loving daughter,  
Lily  
  
"Why didn't she ever send the letter?"  
"Look there's a big ink stain on the bottom."  
"She must have rewritten the letter when she finally sent it."  
"The next page has a letter too!"  
  
Petunia,  
You always seem mad at me whenever I come home for the holidays  
anymore. That's why I didn't visit you this Christmas. If there's  
something on your mind talk to me. Well, I won't be home again for a  
while yet, so write to me. I really want you to be happy again.  
Please, write back to me. I thought we were friends. You are my big  
sister, what would I do without you?  
  
Your concerned sister,  
Lily  
  
"Is it just me or does it sound like my mom and my aunt used to get along?"  
"I dunno, Harry," Ron said. "My family gets along pretty well. Well except the twins and Percy but mum usually keeps anything serious from happening. That is, anything short of rearranging limbs."  
"I think we should take the notebook back to the Tower or at least somewhere else where we can think clearer. Its stuffy in here," Renata fanned herself with a newspaper.  
"Grab any papers that looked like they might be helpful and we'll leave." Harry, as well as the others grabbed the papers they had set aside and they moved toward the door. It was locked.  
"Renata.?"  
"I'll take care of it." She moved nearer to the door. "Abierteo, por favor?" The locked clicked. "Gracias."  
"How'd you know what to say?"  
"I went to a Muggle school for a while when I was younger and I took Spanish as my foreign language. My mom and the parents of a couple of the kids I ended up at my magic school with thought it would be good for us to get a Muggle education too. Let's go down to the kitchen I'm hungry. Gotta have brain food if my mind wants to work right."  
"Brain food?"  
"Sure. Donuts, brownies, ice cream. Great brain food," she grinned and started down the steps.  
Ron muttered, "Strange."  
She turned, "Thank you. I'll add that to the list of my other favorite titles: weird and unique are at the top of the list with eccentric and bizarre. I knew I was missing one. Strange. Got it. I'll have to add it later." She continued on her way.  
They followed close behind her.  
By the time they got back to the Tower it was mid-afternoon. They continued to study Lily's notebook but their findings were few.  
Notes from several different classes followed the next few pages broken only once by a written conversation.  
  
Lil, what was transfiguration homework?  
  
Jen, its page 327 questions 1-4 in essay form.  
  
Oops. I didn't do it yet.  
  
Well, you better finish before our next class.  
  
Can I borrow your book? I left mine in the Tower.  
  
Okay. But don't let Prof. Flitwick see you writing. I don't want him to take my book away. I'll need it in the next class.  
  
Thanks, Lil.  
  
"Well this isn't much help."  
"What have we learned?"  
"Judging by the label on the back this notebook is from a Muggle store. And from that letter for Petunia, it means your mom, Harry, used to be friends with her. I know they were sisters but the letter means at one point they used to get along. What I can't figure out is the letter or conversation note-passing thing between James and Lily. The one between my mom and her is easy. My mom obviously didn't like to do her homework. I wonder why she didn't send that letter," Renata mused.  
"Maybe she sent it but just recopied it to another sheet."  
"I don't think so. I think we should take that letter out of the book and send it to your Aunt Petunia, Harry."  
"Are you crazy, Renata? Back there I'm in trouble for even saying anything that has to do with magic! Do you know how much trouble I got in the last time I said Hogwarts? Or how purple my uncle's face turned when I started to say broomstick? Besides, I'm not giving up this book."  
"Well at least let me make a copy of it to send."  
"You aren't getting this letter."  
"Okay. It was just a thought, but I don't see why we don't send this letter. Read it again. It's sisterly. It has got nothing to do with magic."  
Hermione interrupted her. "It's Harry's choice. He doesn't want to send the letter and he doesn't want to have you copy it so just leave him alone."  
" 'Kay. I'll stop. So what are we going to do? I know, we won't do anything with Petunia. So what are we going to do now? These papers we brought up won't read themselves. We've got to start taking notes."  
They sat taking notes on important events that took place in the time of Voldemort's rising powers.  
At one point Ron spoke, "I don't see the point in this."  
Renata, still reading the page she had been occupied with and taking copious notes, briskly replied: "Well if you want to do something right the best way to do it is to study history and figure out where other people made mistakes so that you don't make the same ones."  
"And to figure out what it was they did right when they succeeded."  
"Exactly."  
They all went back to their note taking. An hour or so later they stopped.  
"We've gone through all of these papers twice, we've taken notes, my hands hurt. I think I'm done for a while." Renata stood to leave.  
"Harry, I think we could all use a break."  
"We have been working for hours."  
Harry began to stand up, but fell back, clutching his head.  
It was brief, but it was the scar pain that he knew all to well. It was gone as quickly as it had come.  
Ron was at his side in an instant. "Are you okay Harry?"  
Renata and Hermione were there too.  
Ron's face was pale under his freckles. "It was your scar, wasn't it?"  
Harry didn't answer.  
"He can't be here, can he?"  
"I don't think so, but Dumbledore thinks sometimes my scar hurts when Voldemort is feeling really murderous."  
"Come, let's see if Madam Pomfrey will have anything for you. We'll just say it's a really bad headache."  
"No, I'm fine, now." They didn't seem to believe him. "Honestly. My scar doesn't hurt. I'm fine. It's nearly dinner let's go downstairs."  
As they left Renata whispered to Harry. "You are a bad liar. Your scar may not be hurting but you aren't fine. Worry is all over your face."  
He made no reply.  
The rest of the night Harry remained in this gloomy mood. ******************************************************************  
The next day Harry woke up early to go for a walk. He walked around the Lake for a while and then just wandered about. He was nearing the forest when he heard a voice.  
"Harry!"  
He turned there was a young centaur galloping toward him. "Amicari! What are doing here?"  
"Oh, I was bored. I'm not supposed to leave the forest but I was so bored I snuck off and then I saw you here so I came over. Why are you over here?"  
"I decided to go for a walk. I was a little bored myself."  
"But how could you be? You have friends."  
"They aren't awake yet."  
"Oh. When do you think they'll be up?"  
"Not for a little while. I woke up early today even though it was a weekend."  
Amicari's face lit up. "I found a really nice cave in the Forest. Do you want to come see it?"  
"Er.okay."  
"Great, come on!" He started galloping back toward the Forest.  
"Wait!"  
Amicari stopped as Harry caught up to him.  
"I've only got two legs I don't run as fast as you."  
"Okay." When they resumed, Amicari's gait slowed but Harry still had to walk briskly to keep up. As they traveled Amicari kept up a mild stream of conversation. He pointed out unfamiliar plants to Harry and talked about some of the different types of animals in the Forest.  
"There's a really weird animal here too. I've never ever seen it but I hear people talk about it. It growls loudly and it's a turquoise metal thing. It's really strange, you know."  
It took Harry a while to figure out but Harry recognized the description as the flying car that he and Ron had crashed just outside the forest in their second year. But by the time Harry realized that Amicari's chatter was now regarding the giant spiders he and Ron had met in the forest in their second year.  
"I heard the spiders are huge! At least six feet tall. And they talk!"  
"They do," replied Harry.  
"How do you know?"  
"I met some, and they tried to eat me and my friend."  
"How did you escape?"  
"The car-er- the big, loud turquoise thing you talked about earlier came to save us."  
"Wow." He pointed forward. "Look we're almost there. See that big rock?"  
Harry looked to where he indicated and he nodded.  
"The cave is right over there. I couldn't get in it all the way but it was weird." They had reached the cave. Or rather, it was a hole in the ground with an extremely large rock covering part of it. "I could really only stick my head in it but it was too dark to see anything. You might fit. Will you go down there?"  
A dark unexplored cave was waiting in a dangerous forest for him to climb in. Harry had his wand and would be able to see down there and protect himself. But did he really want to risk it? "Okay, but help me move the rock some more so I can fit more easily."  
Harry had always been rather slight for his age and he would have managed through the cave entrance quite easily enough but the larger the entrance, the less likely he was to be caught unawares.  
Together the two of them managed to completely remove the large stone from the cave and see the opening. It was larger than they had expected and there was a set of stone stairs lead down.  
"Wow," gasped Amicari.  
Harry lit the end of his wand and started down the steps. Now, without the rock covering part of the entrance Amicari could fit as well and he followed closely.  
When they reached the bottom of the steps and emerged in a large chamber. There were benches, tables, empty beakers, a dusty book or two, and a door. On the far side of the room was a large door.  
Harry went to it. It was locked. He tried a spell and still the door refused to budge. Harry left the door and wandered over to where Amicari was looking over one of the books.  
The cover had no title; merely a picture of some red and yellow birds, quite dusty too. Harry picked up the book and used his sleeve to wipe dust off the cover.  
When he was done he no longer saw a dusty red and yellow bird. It was a gorgeous scarlet and golden Phoenix. Harry suddenly remembered that he had been gone for some time now and he looked down at his watch. He had been out all morning. It was quarter past twelve. He pointed this out to Amicari.  
"They others will be looking for me by now Harry! Farewell!" He began up the stairs.  
"Amicari, I don't know which way it is back to the castle. We have to put this rock back in place too."  
The centaur slowed down and came back. Harry had taken the book with him. Together they moved the stone back to its original position and Amicari led the way swiftly back to the edge of the Forest. "I must go now. The other centaurs will have noticed my absence by now." He fled swiftly through the trees. Harry suddenly aware that his own absence may have been detected he made his way swiftly back to the school with the book the under his arm. Racing up the steps he ran into someone, quite literally.  
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you I was in a hurry," Harry said, quickly tucking the book back under his arm. He reached out his other arm to help the other person.  
"That's okay." The girl scrambled up the steps quite easily.  
"Sorry."  
"Its okay, Harry, I'm fine."  
"How do you know my name?"  
"Ginny talks about you all the time. I'm her friend Clare."  
"Oh."  
"Bye, Harry. I'll let Ginny know you said hi."  
"Bye-er-Clare," Harry replied. He continued up the stairs without another thought. It was probably this that caused him to bump into several more people. Each time he muttered sorry and continued on his way. He was just inside the door when he bumped into someone else.  
"Slow down, Harry."  
"You'll hurt yourself if you aren't careful, you know."  
"Where've you been?"  
Harry looked and found Ron, Hermione, and Renata.  
"I went for a walk."  
"For this long?"  
"It's a nice day out."  
"Not that nice. What gives?"  
"Centaurs again."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. Let's go back in, I need to show you this."  
"But it's so nice out."  
"Didn't you just tell me it wasn't that nice out?"  
"It's nice enough to read under a tree by the Lake but not nice enough to be walking around for hours. What's the book about?"  
"Phoenixes. I think it may help us with what we've been looking for." Harry turned to go down the steps and he saw Draco Malfoy.  
He had a rather unpleasant smirk on his face. How much had he heard? When he saw that Harry had seen him he swaggered away.  
Harry and the others went over to the Lake and sat beneath the tree.  
"So what happened?"  
"I got up early to go for a walk and when I was out here that younger centaur Amicari. He told me he found a cave and he wanted me to come see it. It turned out that the entrance was blocked. So we moved the big rock and went down there. There were some steps and they led down to this big chamber. There were benches, chairs, glass beakers, and this book. There was a door too but I couldn't get it open."  
"Let's look at the book."  
"The Phoenix on the cover is beautiful."  
They opened the pages to find that they were unexpectedly clean, though undoubtedly worn. The first page in the book was a warning.  
  
WARNING:  
To all who seek within these pages, beware of the information  
concealed,  
for it holds its own dangers.  
Be careful with the information you will gain and let it not fall into  
the wrong hands.  
Godric Gryffindor  
  
Hermione gasped. "Godric Gryffindor wrote this book!"  
"Or at least he signed the warning to it."  
"Let's keep reading." They turned the page and found, rather to their surprise, a table of contents. There was a list of everyone who had the original Phoenixes and who had them now. Then the book went on to tell the story about how the Phoenixes first came rising out of the sun to act as guardian angels over those who would need them the most. From there it continued on the Phoenxial rebirth from the flames. Then there were several chapters on caring for a Phoenix and on wild Phoenixes. The final chapter was brief but detailed it was the only way to kill a Phoenix permanently.  
Now, this was the information the received from the table of contents because with each chapter title there was a one-paragraph summary.  
First they viewed the chart. The book was obviously magical and able to update itself. There were five columns for each of the five hundred Phoenixes. There was the Phoenix's original owner; the name the Phoenix during its first owner; the current owner of the Phoenix; the current name of the Phoenix; when the Phoenix finally died for the last time. Also there was a list of wild Phoenixes in place of their name was a symbol.  
They looked for Kennilworthy Whisp's Phoenix. Firebolt was dead.  
As they searched Ron discovered that Fawkes's original name was Helios and the owner was Graham Granules. None of them knew who Graham Granules was but Hermione had a recollection of Helios. She informed them that the Sun God of the Greeks had been known as Helios.  
"It's really rather interesting."  
When they turned to the next page it had only a few words on it "Speak the first name of the Phoenix you wish to have more information on then speak what you would like to know."  
They had all decided to take turns holding and reading from the book. Renata presently had it. "I want to know all the owners of Helios."  
A long list appeared. The list contained a hundred seventy-three names. Among those names were Alexander the Great, Godric Gryffindor, Guy Fawkes, and Albus Dumbledore.  
"Wait a second. Dumbledore's name is twice."  
"Renata, what do you mean his name is twice?"  
"I mean what I say. It says here Albus Dumbledore, James Potter, Albus Dumbledore."  
"What?"  
"Here Harry look for yourself." She handed the book over.  
Sure enough there it was. Albus Dumbledore, then for less than a year it said James Potter, then it said Albus Dumbledore again.  
"This is strange."  
"Yeah it is."  
"Let's keep reading." They turned the page and read the story of how the Phoenixes first came into being. It talked about how when the world was greatly troubled the Phoenixes came down from the sky out of the sun to watch over anyone who needed them. It went on to say that no one really owns a Phoenix. If anything it's the other way around. But more than anything the Phoenix is just there as a guardian angel.  
There were several chapters after that about caring for Phoenixes to keep them healthy, ways they get ill, ways of healing them, what they liked to eat.  
As they read on they discovered more about the Phoenixial fire death and then they went on to the final chapter: the only way to permanently kill a Phoenix.  
By the time they were all done they had been reading for hours and they had a lot on their minds.  
"Whoever has this book can kill Fawkes."  
"We don't know who had this book last. Or who knows the information in the book."  
They saw her point.  
"We need to find that cave and go back."  
"How are we supposed to find it? I was only there once. Amicari was leading."  
"Well we've got to get there, one way or another. We need to find out as much as we can as soon as we can. Otherwise.well things won't be good. Harry do you remember if there was a lot of dust around there?"  
"How am I supposed to remember that, Renata? The cover of the book I brought back was certainly dusty. The cover just looked like dull red and yellow."  
"But as we can plainly see now the cover has a brilliant scarlet and gold Phoenix on it and the sleeve of your robe is covered with dust."  
"Really?" He replied to her. "I hadn't noticed."  
"Get real Harry this is no time to be sarcastic. We should really be looking for that centaur friend of yours."  
"Shouldn't we put the book somewhere safe first?"  
Hermione's question reminded Harry of something. "When we were talking on the steps I looked over and saw Malfoy listening. I don't know how much he heard."  
"Then we better stow this book double quick." Renata sprang up and began pacing. "But where to put it and how do we guard it. Now there is that is the real dilemma. We need it somewhere safe, but unlikely. Easy enough for us to remember where it is but not likely to be found by anyone else."  
Ron shrugged, "Maybe we could transfigure it into something before we hid it in case anyone did find it."  
"Yes, that might work, but what?"  
"If we're going to transfigure it I think we should keep it a book but make it look old and dull," proposed Hermione.  
Ron mumbled, "How about we transfigure it into Hogwarts, a History."  
At the same time Renata and Hermione replied, "That's a very interesting book!"  
They smiled. "How about, Caring for Flobberworms?"  
"I don't think we can really do a book because we would have to change every page in this book in case someone did open it."  
"I suppose so."  
"Well, a rock then and I'll put it at the bottom of my trunk. With spells on the trunk of course."  
"Why your trunk?"  
"Well," replied Harry, "I found it."  
"That's not a good reason."  
"Why not?"  
"Because its not."  
"Well that isn't a good reason either."  
"So?"  
"You're impossible."  
Renata smiled sweetly. "Of course I am. Okay so what spells will we use?"  
"I think we should check our Defense Against the Dark Arts books. There should be something useful in there."  
They spent the rest of the afternoon researching possible spells to use to guard the book. It was evening by the time they had found sufficient spells to protect the book. Then, in a corner of the common room Hermione performed the transfiguration causing the book to take the form of a small stone. Harry and Ron then took the stone up to their room and put it in Harry's trunk and carried out the necessary charms. They met Renata and Hermione downstairs. The girls would have preferred to set the charms themselves but Harry and Ron refused to allow them to; partly because they didn't want them upstairs and partly because they wanted to try the charms themselves.  
Now the only thing left to do was to decide how and when to find the cave.  
Renata wanted to go down to the Forest right away and look for the cave themselves, if they found Amicari along the way, so much better for them.  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione pointed out that dangerous as the Forest was by day, it was even worse at night. They also pointed out they had no idea where the cave was and no way of finding the centaurs.  
At last they convinced Renata not to go into the forest and they all went down to dinner. After that the night was spent doing homework, deciding they would have to wait until the upcoming weekend to look for the cave.  
At first Renata protested, "What if it's too late by then? Then where does that leave us?"  
They explained gently but firmly that they would not allow her to go down to the Forest. She seemed to accept it well enough. Then they all went to bed. 


	18. Chapter 18, still needs a name

At breakfast the next morning there was a fracas between Hermione and Renata. Harry and Ron watched it unfold with interest.  
"You didn't have to do that Hermione."  
"Obviously I did. You tried to leave last night."  
"So? I could have been going anywhere."  
"You had shoes and a cloak on. You had your wand too. I know you were going to the Forest."  
By the time the argument was over Harry and Ron had learned the cause of the fight. Hermione had been suspicious when Renata had so easily given in about not going to the Forest the night before so she put a leashing spell on Renata when they got to the dorm. But she didn't tell Renata. Then a little while later Renata got up and Hermione caught her.  
The fight ended with a confession from Renata. "Fine I was going to the Forest, but I wasn't going to the cave, I was just going to look for the centaur."  
After that Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept a close eye on Renata whenever they weren't in class. They had a feeling it would be a long week. They wanted to check out the forest in the daytime but because of classes they wouldn't be able to do so until Saturday. Renata had pointed out that there were a few hours of light in the afternoon once class was over but Ron pointed out that they might need more than a few hours in the forest. Harry added that she had to worry about not missing Quiditch practice.  
The rest of Monday as well as Tuesday passed wearily as they kept an eye, two when they could spare them, on Renata to make sure she didn't do something stupid.  
Wednesday morning a letter arrived for Renata. She tried to hide it but Harry caught her.  
"Who's that letter from?"  
"No one." She quickly tried to stuff it out of sight but failed as Ron came up from behind her and took it.  
"What' s this?"  
"Nothing!" cried Renata trying to take back the letter.  
Hermione appeared. "What's going on?"  
Renata seized her chance. "Ron and Harry took my letter."  
Hermione fiercely turned to Ron and Harry. "Give back that letter, it isn't yours. Why did you take it?"  
Ron and Harry still held the letter out of reach. "She said the letter was from no one and if that's the case there's no reason we shouldn't see it."  
Hermione thought a moment. "He's got a point, Renata. Who sent it?"  
"It's really nothing." She blushed, something Harry wasn't sure he'd seen her do before. She turned away from them. "Its from Harry's aunt."  
"I told you not to send that letter to her! That was my letter you sent. Well, my mom's but mine now."  
"I didn't send it. I wrote my own letter to her," she replied fiercely. "Now let me read the reply."  
Grudgingly Harry handed the letter to Renata but came to stand by her so he could read it over her shoulder.  
  
I don't know who you are and under normal circumstances I wouldn't  
even reply to your questions and I would deny everything you said in  
the letter. But as the letter was delivered by an owl I realize I  
don't have much of a choice here. In answer to your first question, it  
was all Lily's fault and that's all you need to know. In regards to  
your other question, what do you know about my nephew? Obviously you  
want to know more about his parents past and if you asked me you know  
him well enough to know that he knows nothing about it. It has to stay  
that way. He can know nothing, so neither can you.  
Petunia Dursley  
  
"What did you write to her?" asked Harry, no longer mad, simply curious and confused.  
"I might have a copy of the letter I sent in the Tower, I don't know." She passed the letter to Ron and Hermione.  
When they were done reading the letter Renata put it back in her book bag. They then all went to class. During Charms they found the sinking spells extremely hard to focus on and in Herbology Harry was having a hard time concentrating on the laughing rosebush he was supposed to be watering.  
  
He was fed up by the time he and Ron had to go to Divination. Monday they had started with enchanted crystals. They had done something similar to that a few years before but this year Professor Trelawny told them they would be going more in depth.  
"You will all need to clear your inner eyes in order to properly attain an accurate vision through the crystal. Everyone place your piece of crystal in front of you and take a deep breath. Relax. Close your eyes. Think of a day to come, think hard, concentrate. Open your eyes slowly and light the candle in front of you. Close your eyes a moment longer, open them and see the shadows cast in the crystal by the flame. Open your books to page 92 and interpret the vision before you. Begin!"  
Harry looked at his crystal and watched the flames behind it. According to the vague shadows it appeared to him that he was going to get lost somewhere. But when Professor Trelawny came to look at it she found another interpretation.  
"Oh you poor boy, you poor boy. This is a most unhappy crystal. I'm afraid this crystal shows great tragedy for you in the very near future. A huge loss, possibly a loss of a life."  
Professor Trelawny had often predicted tragedy and death for Harry, especially his own death. It grew rather tiring for him. Harry and Ron left the tower gloomy moods. It didn't help when they discovered that although they had received a lot of homework Hermione and Renata had hardly received any homework from Professor Vector.  
That night at Quiditch practice Renata volunteered as usual to help put away the Quiditch balls and then she took off into the air. Harry groaned as he saw her heading straight for the Forest. He jumped on his broom and was glad he had his wand with him.  
"Renata! Come on I don't want to spend all night chasing you! Get down here! Do not go in that Forest!" He pointed his wand at her and she dodged the stunning spell he sent. "Renata, get over here now! Come on, just get off that broom." He flew behind her in silence gathering speed until he was right behind her. He grabbed the end of her broom and pointed his wand at her. She lost consciousness where she was and started to drop. Harry now realized that she was going to hit the ground extremely hard.  
Harry dove until he reached the ground. He used the Impediment Curse to keep her from falling as fast and then he caught her, broom and all, as the limp figure reached the ground.  
Harry dropped her rather quickly and then used the Mobilicorpus spell to let Renata float next to him as he went back across the grounds. At the entrance to the castle Harry revived Renata and then used the leashing charm on her.  
He spoke to her, "Renata you can't just run off like that."  
"I didn't run."  
"No, you flew. But still you can't go off like that. You'll get hurt."  
"Come on I was just flying over the Forest."  
"You had every intention of landing there. Come on you're going to the Tower and you are staying there."  
"Oh this is fair. I'm not a baby. You can take the spell off."  
"Not a chance." They continued to the Tower. Harry brought Renata over to Ron and Hermione.  
Ron looked up, "Where were you? Fred and George got back half an hour ago."  
"The escape artist here took off on her broom and was trying to land in the Forest." Harry said in vexation. "Hey, you guys can't keep me out of the Forest, I'm a stubborn girl." "We noticed." "Nevertheless we can't let you go. You'll get hurt and we don't want to risk that." "I can take care of myself you know," Renata replied indignantly. Then she smiled. "I should really get that letter from upstairs." "Good idea Renata. I'll go with you, I want to get my quill," Hermione said rising with Renata. Renata pouted but followed Hermione upstairs. When they came back down they gathered to look at the letter.  
  
Dear Petunia Dursley,  
You don't know me and I don't know you but I know about you. You  
fear magic. You have a deceased sister named Lily. She was a witch.  
You aren't. You and your sister seem to have gotten along at one  
point, what went wrong? Do you know people are trying to kill your  
nephew? Are you aware that he knows nothing about his parents? That  
really isn't fair, you know.  
I'm waiting for a reply.  
  
"There this an exact copy of the letter I sent."  
"Thank you."  
Being as late as it was, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata went up to their rooms to go to sleep.  
The week passed slowly but at last Harry woke up and it was Saturday. It was early, and he hadn't woken up by choice. He felt an impulse to go down to the common room at six thirty in the morning. He got down there and wondered why he was there with Ron, Hermione, and Renata.  
"What's going on?" He asked irritably. "I hadn't been planning to wake up for hours yet."  
Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement.  
Renata smiled brightly and fastened her cloak. "It's Saturday. Come on let's go!"  
"You used the Calling Charm again didn't you?" asked Ron.  
"Of course. Come on."  
Harry looked at the three of them, then at himself. "Renata, hate to break it to you but you're the only one who's dressed. The rest of us are still in our pajamas in case you haven't noticed."  
It was true. Harry was indeed in his pajamas, as was Ron; Hermione was wearing a pink nightgown that was sleeveless and went down to her knees, she looked cold. Renata alone was fully dressed.  
"Well, why didn't you get dressed?"  
"Because you called us out of bed at six thirty in the morning!"  
"Ssh! People are still asleep," Renata whispered.  
Ron stared at her. "Yes they are and we would like to be among that group of people who are still asleep."  
"Fine. I'll go by myself." Renata made for the portrait hole.  
Harry went after her and put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes, speaking in a calm, reasonable voice. "Renata, we can't let you go into the forest alone. We are tired. We are going back to sleep, and so are you."  
"But-"  
"If you don't want to go back to sleep, you at least have to go back up to the dormitory or stay here in the common room. You have two choices."  
"No I have three. My third choice is to go down to the forest alone if I can't convince any of you to come with me."  
Harry took his hand off her shoulder but still continued to stare at her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand before she could stop him. "Petrificus totalus!"  
Renata's body went rigid. Her arms and legs clapped to her sides and the only part of her that moved were her eyes.  
Harry sighed. "Sorry Renata. Had to do that for your own good." He turned away. "Hermione could you bring her back up to your room? I'd leave her here but someone would notice. Sorry we can't help you but Lavender and Parvati would probably scream if they woke up and we were carrying a frozen girl."  
"Sure. I'll cover her with the blanket so no one sees her. We can come back down around nine?"  
"Sounds good to me," said Ron.  
Harry nodded and they all went upstairs.  
As Harry and Ron trudged upward Ron asked, "Do you really think that was smart? She seems to know a lot of curses. I wouldn't want to be around when she gets unfrozen or whatever."  
"Ron I didn't have much of a choice. Besides, she's got to work on her temper. And her stubbornness."  
As he climbed into his four-poster bed Harry heard Ron mutter, "Sounds just like someone I know."  
Harry didn't give the words a second thought and he drifted back into the calm of sleep.  
  
When the four of them were assembled in the common room once more they were all dressed and Renata was mobile once more and eager to start.  
They managed to convince her that if they were going to be gone for most of the day they at least needed eat breakfast first. After a quick meal their exit was delayed by the castle poltergeist, Peeves.  
Peeves was bouncing around the doorway and throwing things at whoever came near. He had thought it was all fun, but he had never really messed with Renata, at least not when she was mad.  
"Peeves if you do not leave the hall this instant you will immensely regret it."  
"Yeah right, noodle head. Stringy, yellow noodle-head, stringy, yellow noodle-head, stringy, yellow noodle-head," he sang.  
"Peeves I'm warning you. You've go until I count to five. I suggest you leave."  
He made no response.  
"One.two.five!" She whipped out her wand, yelled harsh words and all of them present, not Peeves in the least, were shocked. It was the sinking spell they had all had so much trouble with in charms.  
He sank to the floor and couldn't get up. He seemed to be partly stuck in the floor. He was struggling against an unseen force and he couldn't move. Nor could he apparently speak or he would have been shouting ill words at Renata. Because he couldn't speak he had to be content with glaring  
As she passed Renata gave him a look that included no sympathy.  
As he passed Harry shrugged and told Peeves. "She warned you."  
Ron agreed. "It was a fair warning. Even if the counting wasn't fair."  
True, Renata had skipped three and four.  
They proceeded down the stairs and across the grounds. They reached the edge of the forest.  
Simultaneously Harry and Renata spoke. "I'm going in first. No you're not. Yes I am! Stop that!"  
They were silent for a moment then.  
"I'm going first and that's final!"  
Ron and Hermione came and each stood in front of one of their friends. Hermione said to Harry, "You better knock this off right now. Neither of you are going in that forest alone."  
"Yeah? And how do you plan to stop me?" Harry took a step forward.  
"Like this." She pointed her wand at him and he was bound with cords that had appeared from nowhere.  
"You can't do this to me!"  
"Harry, do you want me to add a gag?"  
Renata took this opportunity to edge her way to the forest. Harry saw her. "You know Renata's running off, don't you?"  
Hermione and Ron turned chasing after her leaving Harry tied up on the ground. "Come back!" He struggled against the bonds but they were secure. He had been tied up like this before but it had always been an enemy: Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, or on another occasion Wormtail and Voldemort. He was thoroughly confused.  
He struggled until he could sit up. He saw Draco Malfoy along with Crabbe and Goyle coming toward him. He hoped they hadn't spotted him and he squirmed nearer to the edge of the forest and behind a tree. He looked over his shoulder to see Malfoy shout at his companions. Harry regretted that he couldn't hear the words.  
He looked back to see Ron and Hermione emerge from the forest with Renata tied up between them. Harry took pleasure in seeing that she had been gagged.  
Unfortunately Malfoy saw them as well. He swaggered over. "Strange birds flock together."  
Renata struggled until she had worked her jaw enough and forced the gag from her mouth. She would not be silenced. "So that's why you and those two hang out. I couldn't figure out why. I should have guessed it was the strangeness. Thanks for clearing that up for me Malfoy."  
His cheeks reddened slightly. "Where's Potter?"  
Renata looked back to the forest and saw Harry tied behind the tree. "He's around."  
"He was probably too terrified to go into that forest."  
"And I take it you're not, Malfoy?" asked Renata. "Yeah. I know in your first year you ran away from the forest screaming your puny lungs out. And all because of some dork in a hood showed up. Pathetic." She probably would have marched straight back into the Forest just to spite him but she couldn't move at all.  
"Why are you tied up like that? And in the forest?" Malfoy sneered. "I guess even your friends don't want you around, do they?  
"What are you talking about?" Renata asked briskly in reply. "This was a dare."  
"Must be a big dare if you're going into the forest like that."  
She answered casually, "Not really. I just had to spend the night tied up in the forest. I won a Chocolate Frog."  
"You spent the night here and all you got was a Chocolate Frog?" He gaped at her.  
"Sure. Harry was somewhere in the Forest too."  
"Oh then you were being guarded. No big deal, though I can't see how he would be any help."  
"He wasn't. Harry was here too, tied up on a dare."  
"I bet he left early. Screaming."  
"No, he's over there, actually." She gestured in Harry's direction.  
Leaning against the tree Harry managed to squirm into a wobbling stand, and, as he was still bound, he managed to hop over.  
"Hello, Malfoy. Ron? Hermione? Shouldn't we go back? I promised that Acromantula I'd bring him something to eat." The four of them turned and headed back to the forest, Renata and Harry hopping. Malfoy couldn't see their faces but they both wore wicked grins.  
When they were sure they were out of Malfoy's sight Hermione and Ron got rid of the ropes binding the other two. It wasn't long before they came upon Amicari playing a small wooden flute. Amicari was delighted to see them.  
"I'm glad you're all here! It's been lonesome. Do you want to go for a walk or listen to the flute here?"  
"Actually we wanted you to take us back to that cave you showed me." Harry told him.  
Amicari's face saddened. "I'm not supposed to go that far away. I got in trouble for being out so long."  
"Couldn't you just show us the way there?" pleaded Renata. "It's important." "Okay but I can't be gone long or my family will notice again." He started leading them at a brisk pace. Renata eagerly kept up but Harry and the others had to stop him and remind him that they only had two legs as opposed to his four. Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron, "He seems different from when the centaurs in class spoke to us." Harry replied. "He's younger. And the others are just really formal. He-" "-Is a chatterbox," finished Ron. "But we can't complain. He is helping us." They continued without incident for a while. They came "Shouldn't we put the book somewhere safe first?"  
Hermione's question reminded Harry of something. "When we were talking on the steps I looked over and saw Malfoy listening. I don't know how much he heard."  
"Then we better stow this book double quick." Renata sprang up and began pacing. "But where to put it and how do we guard it. Now there is that is the real dilemma. We need it somewhere safe, but unlikely. Easy enough for us to remember where it is but not likely to be found by anyone else."  
Ron shrugged, "Maybe we could transfigure it into something before we hid it in case anyone did find it."  
"Yes, that might work, but what?"  
"If we're going to transfigure it I think we should keep it a book but make it look old and dull," proposed Hermione.  
Ron mumbled, "How about we transfigure it into Hogwarts, a History."  
At the same time Renata and Hermione replied, "That's a very interesting book!"  
They smiled. "How about, Caring for Flobberworms?"  
"I don't think we can really do a book because we would have to change every page in this book in case someone did open it."  
"I suppose so."  
"Well, a rock then and I'll put it at the bottom of my trunk. With spells on the trunk of course."  
"Why your trunk?"  
"Well," replied Harry, "I found it."  
"That's not a good reason."  
"Why not?"  
"Because its not."  
"Well that isn't a good reason either."  
"So?"  
"You're impossible."  
Renata smiled sweetly. "Of course I am. Okay so what spells will we use?"  
"I think we should check our Defense Against the Dark Arts books. There should be something useful in there."  
They spent the rest of the afternoon researching possible spells to use to guard the book. It was evening by the time they had found sufficient spells to protect the book. Then, in a corner of the common room Hermione performed the transfiguration causing the book to take the form of a small stone. Harry and Ron then took the stone up to their room and put it in Harry's trunk and carried out the necessary charms. They met Renata and Hermione downstairs. The girls would have preferred to set the charms themselves but Harry and Ron refused to allow them to; partly because they didn't want them upstairs and partly because they wanted to try the charms themselves.  
Now the only thing left to do was to decide how and when to find the cave.  
Renata wanted to go down to the Forest right away and look for the cave themselves, if they found Amicari along the way, so much better for them.  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione pointed out that dangerous as the Forest was by day, it was even worse at night. They also pointed out they had no idea where the cave was and no way of finding the centaurs.  
At last they convinced Renata not to go into the forest and they all went down to dinner. After that the night was spent doing homework, deciding they would have to wait until the upcoming weekend to look for the cave.  
At first Renata protested, "What if it's too late by then? Then where does that leave us?"  
They explained gently but firmly that they would not allow her to go down to the Forest. She seemed to accept it well enough. Then they all went to bed.  
  
At breakfast the next morning there was a fracas between Hermione and Renata. Harry and Ron watched it unfold with interest.  
"You didn't have to do that Hermione."  
"Obviously I did. You tried to leave last night."  
"So? I could have been going anywhere."  
"You had shoes and a cloak on. You had your wand too. I know you were going to the Forest."  
By the time the argument was over Harry and Ron had learned the cause of the fight. Hermione had been suspicious when Renata had so easily given in about not going to the Forest the night before so she put a leashing spell on Renata when they got to the dorm. But she didn't tell Renata. Then a little while later Renata got up and Hermione caught her.  
The fight ended with a confession from Renata. "Fine I was going to the Forest, but I wasn't going to the cave, I was just going to look for the centaur."  
After that Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept a close eye on Renata whenever they weren't in class. They had a feeling it would be a long week. They wanted to check out the forest in the daytime but because of classes they wouldn't be able to do so until Saturday. Renata had pointed out that there were a few hours of light in the afternoon once class was over but Ron pointed out that they might need more than a few hours in the forest. Harry added that she had to worry about not missing Quiditch practice.  
The rest of Monday as well as Tuesday passed wearily as they kept an eye, two when they could spare them, on Renata to make sure she didn't do something stupid.  
Wednesday morning a letter arrived for Renata. She tried to hide it but Harry caught her.  
"Who's that letter from?"  
"No one." She quickly tried to stuff it out of sight but failed as Ron came up from behind her and took it.  
"What' s this?"  
"Nothing!" cried Renata trying to take back the letter.  
Hermione appeared. "What's going on?"  
Renata seized her chance. "Ron and Harry took my letter."  
Hermione fiercely turned to Ron and Harry. "Give back that letter, it isn't yours. Why did you take it?"  
Ron and Harry still held the letter out of reach. "She said the letter was from no one and if that's the case there's no reason we shouldn't see it."  
Hermione thought a moment. "He's got a point, Renata. Who sent it?"  
"It's really nothing." She blushed, something Harry wasn't sure he'd seen her do before. She turned away from them. "Its from Harry's aunt."  
"I told you not to send that letter to her! That was my letter that you sent. Well, my mom's but mine now."  
"I didn't send it. I wrote my own letter to her," she replied fiercely. "Now let me read the reply."  
Grudgingly Harry handed the letter to Renata but came to stand by her so he could read it over her shoulder.  
  
I don't know who you are and under normal circumstances I wouldn't  
even reply to your questions and I would deny everything you said in  
the letter. But as the letter was delivered by an owl I realize I  
don't have much of a choice here. In answer to your first question, it  
was all Lily's fault and that's all you need to know. In regards to  
your other question, what do you know about my nephew? Obviously you  
want to know more about his parents past and if you asked me you know  
him well enough to know that he knows nothing about it. It has to stay  
that way. He can know nothing, so neither can you.  
Petunia Dursley  
  
"What did you write to her?" asked Harry, no longer mad, simply curious and confused.  
"I might have a copy of the letter I sent in the Tower, I don't know." She passed the letter to Ron and Hermione.  
When they were done reading the letter Renata put it back in her book bag. They then all went to class. During Charms they found the sinking spells extremely hard to focus on and in Herbology Harry was having a hard time concentrating on the laughing rosebush he was supposed to be watering.  
  
He was fed up by the time he and Ron had to go to Divination. Monday they had started with enchanted crystals. They had done something similar to that a few years before but this year Professor Trelawny told them they would be going more in depth.  
"You will all need to clear your inner eyes in order to properly attain an accurate vision through the crystal. Everyone place your piece of crystal in front of you and take a deep breath. Relax. Close your eyes. Think of a day to come, think hard, concentrate. Open your eyes slowly and light the candle in front of you. Close your eyes a moment longer, open them and see the shadows cast in the crystal by the flame. Open your books to page 92 and interpret the vision before you. Begin!"  
Harry looked at his crystal and watched the flames behind it. According to the vague shadows it appeared to him that he was going to get lost somewhere. But when Professor Trelawny came to look at it she found another interpretation.  
"Oh you poor boy, you poor boy. This is a most unhappy crystal. I'm afraid this crystal shows great tragedy for you in the very near future. A huge loss, possibly a loss of a life."  
Professor Trelawny had often predicted tragedy and death for Harry, especially his own death. It grew rather tiring for him. Harry and Ron left the tower gloomy moods. It didn't help when they discovered that although they had received a lot of homework Hermione and Renata had hardly received any homework from Professor Vector.  
That night at Quiditch practice Renata volunteered as usual to help put away the Quiditch balls and then she took off into the air. Harry groaned as he saw her heading straight for the Forest. He jumped on his broom and was glad he had his wand with him.  
"Renata! Come on I don't want to spend all night chasing you! Get down here! Do not go in that Forest!" He pointed his wand at her and she dodged the stunning spell he sent. "Renata, get over here now! Come on, just get off that broom." He flew behind her in silence gathering speed until he was right behind her. He grabbed the end of her broom and pointed his wand at her. She lost consciousness where she was and started to drop. Harry now realized that she was going to hit the ground extremely hard.  
Harry dove until he reached the ground. He used the Impediment Curse to keep her from falling as fast and then he caught her, broom and all, as the limp figure reached the ground.  
Harry dropped her rather quickly and then used the Mobilicorpus spell to let Renata float next to him as he went back across the grounds. At the entrance to the castle Harry revived Renata and then used the leashing charm on her.  
He spoke to her, "Renata you can't just run off like that."  
"I didn't run."  
"No, you flew. But still you can't go off like that. You'll get hurt."  
"Come on I was just flying over the Forest."  
"You had every intention of landing there. Come on you're going to the Tower and you are staying there."  
"Oh this is fair. I'm not a baby. You can take the spell off."  
"Not a chance." They continued to the Tower. Harry brought Renata over to Ron and Hermione.  
Ron looked up, "Where were you? Fred and George got back half an hour ago."  
"The escape artist here took off on her broom and was trying to land in the Forest." Harry said in vexation. "Hey, you guys can't keep me out of the Forest, I'm a stubborn girl." "We noticed." "Nevertheless we can't let you go. You'll get hurt and we don't want to risk that." "I can take care of myself you know," Renata replied indignantly. Then she smiled. "I should really get that letter from upstairs." "Good idea Renata. I'll go with you, I want to get my quill," Hermione said rising with Renata. Renata pouted but followed Hermione upstairs. When they came back down they gathered to look at the letter.  
  
Dear Petunia Dursley,  
You don't know me and I don't know you but I know about you. You  
fear magic. You have a deceased sister named Lily. She was a witch.  
You aren't. You and your sister seem to have gotten along at one  
point, what went wrong? Do you know people are trying to kill your  
nephew? Are you aware that he knows nothing about his parents? That  
really isn't fair, you know.  
I'm waiting for a reply.  
  
"There this an exact copy of the letter I sent."  
"Thank you."  
Being as late as it was, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata went up to their rooms to go to sleep.  
The week passed slowly but at last Harry woke up and it was Saturday. It was early, and he hadn't woken up by choice. He felt an impulse to go down to the common room at six thirty in the morning. He got down there and wondered why he was there with Ron, Hermione, and Renata.  
"What's going on?" He asked irritably. "I hadn't been planning to wake up for hours yet."  
Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement.  
Renata smiled brightly and fastened her cloak. "It's Saturday. Come on let's go!"  
"You used the Calling Charm again didn't you?" asked Ron.  
"Of course. Come on."  
Harry looked at the three of them, then at himself. "Renata, hate to break it to you but you're the only one who's dressed. The rest of us are still in our pajamas in case you haven't noticed."  
It was true. Harry was indeed in his pajamas, as was Ron; Hermione was wearing a pink nightgown that was sleeveless and went down to her knees, she looked cold. Renata alone was fully dressed.  
"Well, why didn't you get dressed?"  
"Because you called us out of bed at six thirty in the morning!"  
"Ssh! People are still asleep," Renata whispered.  
Ron stared at her. "Yes they are and we would like to be among that group of people who are still asleep."  
"Fine. I'll go by myself." Renata made for the portrait hole.  
Harry went after her and put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes, speaking in a calm, reasonable voice. "Renata, we can't let you go into the forest alone. We are tired. We are going back to sleep, and so are you."  
"But-"  
"If you don't want to go back to sleep, you at least have to go back up to the dormitory or stay here in the common room. You have two choices."  
"No I have three. My third choice is to go down to the forest alone if I can't convince any of you to come with me."  
Harry took his hand off her shoulder but still continued to stare at her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand before she could stop him. "Petrificus totalus!"  
Renata's body went rigid. Her arms and legs clapped to her sides and the only part of her that moved were her eyes.  
Harry sighed. "Sorry Renata. Had to do that for your own good." He turned away. "Hermione could you bring her back up to your room? I'd leave her here but someone would notice. Sorry we can't help you but Lavender and Parvati would probably scream if they woke up and we were carrying a frozen girl."  
"Sure. I'll cover her with the blanket so no one sees her. We can come back down around nine?"  
"Sounds good to me," said Ron.  
Harry nodded and they all went upstairs.  
As Harry and Ron trudged upward Ron asked, "Do you really think that was smart? She seems to know a lot of curses. I wouldn't want to be around when she gets unfrozen or whatever."  
"Ron I didn't have much of a choice. Besides, she's got to work on her temper. And her stubbornness."  
As he climbed into his four-poster bed Harry heard Ron mutter, "Sounds just like someone I know."  
Harry didn't give the words a second thought and he drifted back into the calm of sleep. 


	19. Chapter 19, still needs a name

When the four of them were assembled in the common room once more they were all dressed and Renata was mobile once more and eager to start.  
They managed to convince her that if they were going to be gone for most of the day they at least needed eat breakfast first. After a quick meal their exit was delayed by the castle poltergeist, Peeves.  
Peeves was bouncing around the doorway and throwing things at whoever came near. He had thought it was all fun, but he had never really messed with Renata, at least not when she was mad.  
"Peeves, if you do not leave the hall this instant you will immensely regret it."  
"Yeah right, noodle head. Stringy, yellow noodle-head, stringy, yellow noodle-head, stringy, yellow noodle-head," he sang.  
"Peeves, I'm warning you. You've go until I count to five. I suggest you leave."  
He made no response.  
"One.two.five!" She whipped out her wand, yelled harsh words and all of them present, not Peeves in the least, were shocked. It was the sinking spell they had all had so much trouble with in charms.  
He sank to the floor and couldn't get up. He seemed to be partly stuck in the floor. He was struggling against an unseen force and he couldn't move. Nor could he apparently speak or he would have been shouting ill words at Renata. Because he couldn't speak he had to be content with glaring  
As she passed, Renata gave him a look that included no sympathy.  
As he passed, Harry shrugged and told Peeves. "She warned you."  
Ron agreed. "It was a fair warning. Even if the counting wasn't fair."  
True, Renata had skipped three and four.  
They proceeded down the stairs and across the grounds. They reached the edge of the forest.  
Simultaneously Harry and Renata spoke. "I'm going in first. No you're not. Yes I am! Stop that!"  
They were silent for a moment then.  
"I'm going first and that's final!"  
Ron and Hermione came and each stood in front of one of their friends. Hermione said to Harry, "You better knock this off right now. Neither of you are going in that forest alone."  
"Yeah? And how do you plan to stop me?" Harry took a step forward.  
"Like this." She pointed her wand at him and he was bound with cords that had appeared from nowhere.  
"You can't do this to me!"  
"Harry, do you want me to add a gag?"  
Renata took this opportunity to edge her way to the forest. Harry saw her. "You know, Renata's running off."  
Hermione and Ron turned chasing after her leaving Harry tied up on the ground. "Come back!" He struggled against the bonds but they were secure. He had been tied up like this before but it had always been an enemy: Professor Quirrell and Voldemort, or on another occasion Wormtail and Voldemort. He was thoroughly confused.  
He struggled until he could sit up. He saw Draco Malfoy along with Crabbe and Goyle coming toward him. He hoped they hadn't spotted him and he squirmed nearer to the edge of the forest and behind a tree. He looked over his shoulder to see Malfoy shout at his companions. Harry regretted that he couldn't hear the words.  
He looked back to see Ron and Hermione emerge from the forest with Renata tied up between them. Harry took pleasure in seeing that she had been gagged.  
Unfortunately Malfoy saw them as well. He swaggered over. "Strange birds flock together."  
Renata struggled until she had worked her jaw enough and forced the gag from her mouth. She would not be silenced. "So that's why you and those two hang out. I couldn't figure out why. I should have guessed it was the strangeness. Thanks for clearing that up for me, Malfoy."  
His cheeks reddened slightly. "Where's Potter?"  
Renata looked back to the forest and saw Harry tied behind the tree. "He's around."  
"He was probably too terrified to go into that forest."  
"And I take it you're not, Malfoy?" asked Renata. "Yeah. I know in your first year you ran away from the forest screaming your puny lungs out. And all because of some dork in a hood showed up. Pathetic." She probably would have marched straight back into the Forest just to spite him but she couldn't move at all.  
"Why are you tied up like that? And in the forest?" Malfoy sneered. "I guess even your friends don't want you around, do they?  
"What are you talking about?" Renata asked briskly in reply. "This was a dare."  
"Must be a big dare if you're going into the forest like that."  
She answered casually, "Not really. I just had to spend the night tied up in the forest. I won a Chocolate Frog."  
"You spent the night here and all you got was a Chocolate Frog?" He gaped at her.  
"Sure. Harry was somewhere in the Forest too."  
"Oh then you were being guarded. No big deal, though I can't see how he would be any help."  
"He wasn't. Harry was here too, tied up on a dare."  
"I bet he left early. Screaming."  
"No, he's over there, actually." She gestured in Harry's direction.  
Leaning against the tree Harry managed to squirm into a wobbling stand, and, as he was still bound, he managed to hop over.  
"Hello, Malfoy. Ron? Hermione? Shouldn't we go back? I promised that Acromantula I'd bring him something to eat." The four of them turned and headed back to the forest, Renata and Harry hopping. Malfoy couldn't see their faces but they both wore wicked grins.  
When they were sure they were out of Malfoy's sight Hermione and Ron got rid of the ropes binding the other two. It wasn't long before they came upon Amicari playing a small wooden flute. Amicari was delighted to see them.  
"I'm glad you're all here! It's been lonesome. Do you want to go for a walk or listen to the flute here?"  
"Actually we wanted you to take us back to that cave you showed me." Harry told him.  
Amicari's face saddened. "I'm not supposed to go that far away. I got in trouble for being out so long."  
"Couldn't you just show us the way there?" pleaded Renata. "It's important."  
"Okay but I can't be gone long or my family will notice again." He started leading them at a brisk pace.  
Renata eagerly kept up but Harry and the others had to stop him and remind him that they only had two legs as opposed to his four.  
Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron, "He seems different from when the centaurs in class spoke to us."  
Harry replied. "He's younger. And the others are just really formal. He-"  
"-Is a chatterbox," finished Ron.  
"But we can't complain. He is helping us." They continued without incident for a while.  
They came upon another centaur as they traveled the path. Her coat was a golden-tan, her hair a bronze-gold. There were pink flowers in her hair. She was humming.  
Harry looked at her and saw that she was as young as Amicari. So this is the centaur who doesn't like him, thought Harry.  
She was silent when she saw Amicari with Harry and his friends.  
Amicari said to her, "Terra, it's good to see you."  
"You travel with these humans. Answer me why it is so."  
He seemed startled. "Because they are my friends."  
"You socialize with others such as humans? I see no reason for this. It is certain to be improper behavior for one such as yourself. Cousin, I am surprised at your actions."  
"I'm doing nothing wrong, no law among our kinsfolk states that we may not consort with those from the castle." With each reply Amicari's tone and words became more formal and less friendly.  
"It is still unacceptable conduct of one of our stature to mingle with humans. It is unseemly and just not done."  
"Your father may feel so but I don't. Your father, has always had a fiery temper."  
"At least my father doesn't act as dismal as yours does, Amicari. You interact too often with your Uncle Firenze."  
"Firenze is your uncle too and you could learn a lot from him. You and your father both."  
"Fine, Amicari. I am leaving." She looked as though she would have liked to storm away but instead she walked slow, deliberate steps, as though daring any of them to say a word.  
Harry turned to Renata. "Why didn't she yell or shout? You can tell she wanted too."  
"She didn't want to give Amicari the satisfaction of knowing how upset she was. Trust me. She was inviting more insults when she walked away but letting him, and I guess us, know that she was too dignified and sophisticated to respond to such juvenileness."  
Ron remarked, "Did you notice how formal he got when he was mad?"  
"I hadn't realized that she was his cousin until now," Harry said. He had spent the week remembering his first encounter with the centaurs, four years earlier. He told the others what he remembered. "Ronan, Amicari's father, always seemed gloomy to me. Firenze had been willing to help me even though I was human. Bane had been furious. He called Firenze a pack mule. He was really upset and said I was supposed to be dead. The stars had said so. He was the one this year who couldn't figure out how I was still alive. That one is Terra's father."  
"It's interesting. What about the sister? Amicari's aunt.um.what was her name.Aursula?" asked Renata.  
"I don't know. It's hard to figure out quite what she's like, I think she kind of reminds me of McGonagall," said Harry.  
Amicari looked back, "We're not far now."  
They continued on their way. Every now and then Harry could have sworn he heard leaves rustle behind him but each time he looked back, it was nothing.  
They reached the cave a short while later. Ron and Harry lifted the boulder and carried it off. Amicari when down the steps and the others followed into the gloom.  
Behind him, Harry heard hooves on the stone floor and was shocked when he realized Amicari was in front of him, not behind him. He spun around to see who was there.  
It was Terra.  
Amicari turned to face his cousin. "Depart at once from this place. If you have something to tell us speak swiftly and then be gone, otherwise simply be gone."  
"I come and go as I wish. I speak as I wish. I shall stay for now but whether or no I shall speak will be my own decision." Her head raised high she walked around the whole of the small chamber the six of them were in, inspecting every nook and cranny.  
Hermione called Harry over, he came. "Harry, last time you were here did you notice any footprints in the dust?"  
"Not really, but we weren't looking for footprints."  
Renata came over and Hermione and her studied something on the ground. As they stood up Renata turned to Hermione, "I think you are right."  
"What's she right about?" asked Harry.  
Renata sighed. "Give me your foot, Harry."  
Harry found this command very strange, so surprised by it was he that he immediately lifted his foot and Renata grasped it, studying the shoe.  
"Just what I was afraid of," Hermione said.  
Renata nodded as Ron came over. Simultaneously Ron and Harry asked, "What?" as Harry said the word he took a step and fell backwards because Renata still had his other foot.  
Renata reached out a hand and helped him saying, "We're not the only ones who've been here."  
Hermione explained. "There are lots of footprints here in the dust. Harry, you didn't remember all of them being here last time. We know we all walked around a lot today but I checked and some of these prints don't match any of our feet. At least two others were here."  
"How come you needed my foot and not Ron's too?"  
"Easy. Ron stepped right next to one of the unknown marks and we saw it wasn't him."  
"I think we should look at that door you found last week, Harry."  
"Right."  
Harry found the door and found it was partly opened! "It's open!" he exclaimed. They joined him. Between the four of them they heaved the door open. They coughed with the dust they had raised. The chamber was half the size of the first but it had twice as many things in it.  
From the first chamber Harry heard Amicari call his name.  
"Amicari! We're in here!" Harry called back. Both centaurs joined them.  
"Stop! Everybody freeze!" Renata told them. She walked carefully around the edge of the room, her head near the ground and her robes over her nose and mouth to avoid breathing in the dust. She was obviously checking footprints.  
She came back to report her findings. "Alright there were at least four figures. Here, the three of you stand in a line here." She arranged them in a line facing her, except for Harry that is. She turned him backwards between Ron and Hermione. "Grip his arms and don't let him fall to the ground. Walk forward. Harry, kick your legs a bit. That's good. Here's what I think it was. A person was carried in here backwards. His heels were dragging on the ground. Now, I imagine those ruffians were gripping his arms as they held him back. See how here the marks change a bit? They look like the ones from when you were thrashing around Harry. Now it stands to reason that the person who wanted whoever the prisoner was, to be here wouldn't carry the prisoner himself. Villainous folk always like to put up an air of elegance. The muscle work is considered beneath them. But you can be almost certain that whoever it was wouldn't trust ruffians to bring the prisoner down alone."  
"Why's that?" asked Harry over his shoulder, Hermione and Ron were so intent on listening to Renata that they had forgotten to release him.  
"Because if the thugs were stupid, which is often enough that the henchmen are all muscle no brain, hmm.reminds me of Crabbe and Goyle.anyway if the hooligans were stupid the prisoner might escape. If they weren't stupid they were probably in on the scheme or whatever it was because of revenge. Now if the scoundrel who ordered the person taken prisoner had wanted the prisoner dead or tortured and then killed it would have been done sooner and most probably by him. A scumbag mastermind would never trust his servants. Never completely anyway. So he wouldn't let them come alone. So my guess is that this prisoner was dragged across here by two thugs with the mastermind of it all parading in front.yes, he had to open the door, then about four yards in from the door, after much thrashing the prisoner fell down. Hermione, Ron, started dragging Harry again. Harry, kick your legs a lot. Hermione, Ron, when you've gone a couple feet let Harry fall. Harry, try to fall naturally still lashing out with your legs. I really hope you don't get hurt too much falling."  
They did as they were asked. Harry hit his head and was in a daze for a moment or two. "Harry, are you okay?" No answer. "Harry?" Still nothing. "Harry?" She squirted water at him from her wand and called out, "Harry, wake up or I'll send you to the Dursleys!" Renata wasn't sure whether it was the words or the water or both but he sat up and rubbed his head.  
"Good. Stand up so I can see the prints. Wait! Hermione, Ron, I think it will be more accurate if you drag him up." They hoisted Harry into a standing position and stepped back. Renata studied the marks. "Yes. Nearly the same ones I saw over there. Now following the prints they lead to the door over there. But only three pairs come back. Not four."  
"Then someone is still in that room!" Harry ran over and started shouting and banging on the door.  
Terra spoke, she had been so silent they had forgotten she was there. "If that door is anything like this one we came through its at least a foot thick. You'll shatter the bones in your fists before making a noise that goes through that door."  
Harry's hands did hurt from the pounding.  
"Right. We don't know who's on the other side of the door. We need to look around here first." Indeed there were certainly a number of objects in the room worth giving attention to.  
A bench against one wall contained steel manacles; whips, including a nine tails; and a few swords.  
A corner near the door showed traces of bloodstains.  
Renata nodded grimly. She went back to the table she inspected the nine tails. An ivory handle connected the nine leather thongs, and at the end of each was a large spike. Harry noticed the blood stains at the end of several spikes and was about to say something when Renata shook her head.  
Harry moved on to inspect several jars. Almost all had lead stoppers. He knew they were dangerous. A few of the jars had labels, but most didn't. Harry recognized one jar as being filled with feverfew, more with hemlock, one with dogwood bark, and another contained some sort of dark powder substance labeled "Dugweed Spores." Harry looked through the jars also to find liquid silver. In another jar was minced garlic. More jars had beetles' eyes and rattails. A suspicious one even looked as though it contained dragon liver.  
Harry called Hermione over, "Hermione, come here."  
"What is it?"  
"What's Dugweed?"  
"Dugweed.let me think.Dugweed! Professor Sprout talked about it a few weeks ago. The spores of a Dugweed plant are poisonous, but the roots have healing powers. Why do you ask?"  
"There's a jar of Dugweed spores here."  
"That's dangerous! There's a lid on right?"  
"A stopper is in it."  
"Lead?"  
"Yes."  
"Good, it's safe. Without a lead stopper its still dangerous. Whatever you do don't drop the bottle."  
"I won't, I won't, don't worry, Hermione."  
Renata came over. "I think we should check the door now. We need to plan some spells and give it a try or leave."  
The four of them discussed spells they might be up against and spells they might use. "Someone's got to be in there and we've got to free them."  
"A spell to unlock the door and another to open it. Just in case it's trapped or rigged with spells."  
"Ready?"  
"Let's do this."  
All four of them stood in a line, their wands in hand and at the ready. "On three. One.two.three!"  
At the same time all three shouted "Alohamora!"  
They weren't sure whether or not it unlocked or not but they proceeded anyway. They used a few well-chosen words to try and open the door. The door did not budge a single inch. The four of them tried spell after spell, they pushed all their weight against the door, Amicari and Terra kicked it with their back legs. The door didn't budge an inch.  
Ron pulled Harry aside as they sat down against a wall for rest. "We don't know who built this. Maybe-it might-need someone to speak Parseltongue for it to open."  
"I'll try." Harry wiped the sweat from his brow and stood in front of the door once more. As clearly as he could, he pictured a snake in his mind's eye: the patterned scales, the hissing jaw, the evil forked tongue, the malicious eyes a triangular head bobbing rhythmically. He hissed, "Open."  
The words came out in Parseltongue as they were supposed to but the door was unaffected. Harry kicked it in frustration, regretting it much afterwards. He tried to keep a calm and unpained expression as he moved off and sat down to rub his sore foot.  
Harry heard Renata muttering under her breath. Harry suddenly felt cold. The coldness lasted for several minutes. When it was over Renata came over. "Keeping an ice on your foot for at least a few minutes after hurting it cuts down on the swelling. Sorry I didn't have any ice."  
"So you had to make the whole room cold."  
"Exactly. Hermione and I have been working we got another spell to try."  
"Alright." Harry got to his feet. He moved back to the door with the others.  
Renata and Hermione murmured the words they had chosen. Harry couldn't quite hear them but they continued nonstop for nearly half a minute, they ended by swishing their wands down suddenly. Nothing appeared to happen.  
After a moment Ron asked, "Did it work?"  
"Stop! Just wait," snapped Hermione.  
Ever so slowly a dent appeared in the door, it made it begin to fold in on itself. Before it stopped moving a gap had appeared at the top and bottom.  
"It'll be hard to squeeze through," Hermione said upon catching her breath.  
"We'll make it. The gap for us to squeeze under is about a foot tall. We can do it," Renata said with confidence. She kneeled down and peered under the door. She stayed with her head on the ground and her eyes looking through. She stood up, wiping both her hands and her hair. "You guys won't believe this. Let's go in." Before anyone could reply she was on the ground wriggling her way under the door.  
The others followed quickly. What Harry saw left him to amazed to even remember to wipe off the dust on him. 


	20. Chapter 20, still needs a name

Harry faintly heard Amicari's voice call through the other side of the door, the centaurs had not been able to get through. "What is it, Harry?"  
Indeed, Harry had to consider what the room was. It had velvety scarlet carpet, but the overstuffed suede chairs and couches were of silver with gold trim. There were highly polished wooden bookcases filled with row after row of tomes. There was a table and two desks of elegant oak. The room looked as though it was the study for some prosperous gentleman rather than a cell connected to dusty, rocky rooms full of torture weapons under a dangerous forest.  
"Well, er, its." Harry trailed off unable to find the words.  
"It's nice. It's definitely not what we expected here," Renata tried to find the words.  
Hermione was off in the corner looking through the shelves. "Oh my!"  
Harry, Ron and Renata came over. "What is it?"  
"Just look at these titles!" exclaimed Hermione. "Potent Potions, this is in the restricted section in the library. And this one, A Hundred Deadly Hexes. Look they go on and on!"  
"The Top Ten Torture Techniques. Fun with Muggles-Tricks to Amuse You While Destroying the Worthless. Who owns this stuff?" Ron asked.  
"That would be me," the voice was echoing and seemed to come from all around them.  
"And who would 'me' be?" Ron asked.  
"I.am Me. That is all you need know."  
The four of them looked around trying to find the source of the voice.  
It laughed. "You won't find me with your eyes. I am the essence of this room. A guardian. Leave now." The voice was beginning to sound weary.  
The youths watched as the door through which they had come in entirely vanished. The four of them were floating a foot or so off the ground to the other side of where the door had been. They turned back to find the door there once more and whole.  
"Solid as ever." Renata told them bitterly, discovering so with her own two, now sore, fists.  
Harry described what happened in the room to Amicari and Terra.  
"Interesting. Did none of you recognize the voice? Surely one of you must have."  
"We didn't recognize the voice, Terra. It was sort of low, melodious, with a hint of humor," Hermione said in exasperation.  
"We can't learn anything else here, we better get going," Renata told them.  
"You're right," agreed Harry. The wizards, witches, and centaurs made their way through the chambers and back to forest outside. Hours had passed since they had entered the forest that morning.  
Terra and Amicari escorted the students back to edge of the forest. They then took their leave. Amicari told them, "It's been hours. They probably noticed I'm gone. Bye."  
Terra's parting words were, "It is well passed noon. I must return home."  
The students took their time returning to the castle.  
"I saw another book in there," Harry said quietly.  
"There were lots of books in there on the shelves."  
"This one wasn't on a shelf," he persisted. "It was lying near the desk."  
"Well? Are you going to tell us what it was or not?" asked Renata.  
"It was The Book of Ever."  
"You can't be serious!"  
"It was just lying there? Like some common book on wart removal?"  
Harry nodded.  
"Why didn't you take it?"  
"The voice started and I couldn't."  
"How do you know? Was there a title?"  
"The Book must be huge, how could we not see it?"  
Harry shook his head. "I don't know! It just, well it sort of glowed. And it was big, but not huge or anything and there wasn't a title. Just a kind of magical hum around the book. Look, I can't explain it."  
"It's okay." Hermione patted his shoulder. "At least we know where it is."  
"That's one up on the teachers. We better talk to my mom."  
"Renata, we've got Quiditch practice tonight. If we skip it the others will know something is wrong."  
"Good point. Besides that match against Slytherin is only sixty- eight days away."  
They finished the remainder of the way back to the castle students thronged in the entrance hall heading to the Great Hall. The four suddenly became aware of how hungry they were.  
"We haven't eaten since breakfast."  
"We've been working hard."  
"Let's eat."  
After ravenously consuming their meal the four of them headed back to the tower. Renata and Harry retrieved their brooms and walked back downstairs with Angelina and Alicia.  
"Where's Katie?"  
"She's walking with Fred and George."  
"Interesting," Renata commented.  
"Why?" asked Harry.  
"No reason," she smiled.  
After practice Harry and Renata went to see what Ron and Hermione were doing. They seemed to be having an argument.  
Renata looked around and saw there were still a fair number of people in the common room. "Ron, Hermione, we really should write a letter and bring it up to the Owlery."  
"What?" Hermione snapped.  
"Remember that fascinating book we were reading earlier? I think it's a good idea to send a letter about it to our friend."  
"Renata, either say what you mean or go away," barked Ron.  
Renata knocked over a piece of paper on the desk and whispered to Hermione as she bent down to pick it up. "We need to write to Sirius about the chamber in the forest and the books there!"  
"Oh, sorry. You're right. Really, we need to write the letter," Hermione said getting a piece of parchment and a quill.  
  
Sirius, we found a chamber in the forest, underground, and we  
were wondering if you knew anything about it. It's not on the  
Marauder's Map.  
  
"Wait," Harry told them. "We weren't supposed to be in the forest, remember? It's not allowed. Sirius already told me that he'll fix it with Dumbledore so I'm out of Quiditch if I'm anywhere I'm not supposed to be."  
"But we've got to put that it was the forest. He might know something."  
Eventually Harry agreed. They finished the letter and went up to the Owlery to find an owl to send it. Hedwig was nowhere in sight.  
"She must be hunting. Here we'll use mine. Artemis! Arty! Come on Arty!" Renata made an odd noise that must have been an owl call because nearly every owl turned to her and a large grey one flew to her outstretched arm. She stroked him, not minding the talons. "Ready to send a letter for me? I know you're tired from your trip but after this you can have a long rest. Deal?"  
The owl stared coldly.  
"Fine then I can use Hermoine's owl, he's better anyway."  
The owl made a large squawk of protest and then a low hooting noise of consent.  
"Good boy. Here." She took some old toast from her pocket and gave it to the owl before tying the letter to his leg and sending him off. "C'mon. We'd better get back to the tower. Hermione could I talk to you on the way? I really didn't understand the Transfiguration homework that's due Monday."  
"Sure."  
"Thanks."  
Behind the girls, Harry and Ron walked. "She's interesting."  
"What?" Harry asked.  
"Renata. Look at her. She smiles and laughs all the time. She seems great at Quiditch. She's a bit strange but.interesting."  
"Yeah. I know what you mean." Harry glanced at Renata.  
"You know, Harry, I take back what I said last year about them not being made that great at Hogwarts. Renata looks all right. What do you think? "  
Harry dodged the question. "But she's not from Hogwarts."  
"Good point."  
Back in the room Harry talked to Dean, "Hey, before I came in earlier, what were Ron and Hermione arguing about?"  
"I don't know. They looked mad, but they were whispering. I couldn't hear a word."  
"Oh well. Thanks."  
Harry turned and was unexpectedly face to face with Renata. "So should I add 'nosey' to the list right under stubborn and arrogant? When you want to know something you go to the source. Or in this case talk to the arguers."  
It was a while before Sirius's reply came. But two and half weeks later the letter did come. Harry and Ron had just gone out the trap door of Professor Trelawny's tower when they found Renata and Hermione waiting there for them, out of breath. Renata's arm was on her shoulder.  
"We've got the answer. We've got time to go read it in the Tower."  
"Hurry up."  
The four of them made their way back to the tower as swiftly as they could manage. When they had settled themselves into a corner they ripped open the letter.  
  
I want you all to be careful. It wasn't too bright to go off  
into the forest like that. I never remember the chambers you were  
talking about. I won't say anything to him, but I really think you  
should consult Dumbledore. He's full of surprises and may know  
something I don't. Now I heard that the Book of Ever was missing. So  
you've found it? Well that's interesting. I heard it was missing and  
the Order was really upset but they didn't say anything to anyone  
else. Be careful. Stay out of the Forest. I'll write to you if I find  
out anything else.  
  
"Just as I thought he'd say. Sounds a lot like my uncle," Renata told them.  
"I didn't know you had an uncle," remarked Hermione.  
"Sure you guys know him. I'll give you three clues and one guess. He used to work here. He isn't in league with Voldemort. And, he's a werewolf."  
There was a brief pause as the words sunk in.  
"Lupin is your uncle?"  
"Sure. My Uncle Remus. We really need to study for our antidote quiz tomorrow."  
"Yeah, Snape usually likes to test antidotes by poisoning people," Harry said picking up his book. He noticed it wasn't Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsinus Jigger. "Wait a sec. This isn't Magical Drafts and Potions, and we don't have Snape tomorrow."  
"I know. Just wanted to see the reaction," she laughed.  
It was nearly mid-April and Harry had moved Quiditch practice from three times a week to four and made it nearly twice as long. He stayed out and practiced after the others went in as well. Harry was exhausted as he headed up to the tower, worn out that he didn't notice Filch coming down the hall until it was too late.  
"What are you doing out at this time of night?" He stared coldly at Harry. "Causing trouble I don't doubt. I'm going back to check for mud prints on the floor!"  
"It's been dry outside for at least a week. There isn't any mud to be tracked in."  
"I'll see about that." The caretaker stormed off with his dust colored cat, Mrs. Norris, behind him.  
Harry made his way up to the tower. Ron was playing chess with Renata as Hermione watched. He appeared to be losing.  
"Just a second Harry." He looked up and saw Harry as he began to stumble and caught him as he fell to the ground. *****************************************************  
The next sounds Harry heard were several people, apparently telling off Fred and George.  
"What did you do that for?"  
"It was only a joke."  
"Yeah, no harm meant. Harry'll know it right away when he wakes up."  
"But look! He hit his head awful hard."  
"Should we get someone?" Hermione's anxious voice asked.  
Harry rubbed his head and tried to sit up. The others noticed.  
Fred and George each put out a hand to pull him to his feet.  
"Sorry, Harry."  
"Just testing a new product of Weaslys' Wizard Wheezes."  
"I take it, it was successful? Do me a favor: don't test anymore of them on me. Which one was it?"  
"Catnap Blow-darts. They're only supposed to knock you out for a minute or so but you looked really tired when you came up so I guess the effects were stronger, you were out for nearly ten instead."  
"Here, Harry." George tried sound official as he handed Harry a bag with five little wooden blow-darts with orange tips and a little pipe to shoot them through. "On behalf of the Weasly Bros. of Weaslys' Wizard Wheezes I present a free bag of our Catnap Blow-Darts."  
Fred turned to the rest of the common room. "Who would like to buy a bag of our Catnap Blow-Darts? Only six Sickles for a bag of five! A bargain folks!"  
A couple second years took a few hesitating steps forward and at a sign from George, Lee Jordan ushered them onward and into a line.  
Harry meanwhile went over to talk to Ron and the others.  
Hermione told him, "You really should cut back on the practice. You look exhausted."  
"Wood had the team practicing five times a week, I've only got them practicing four."  
"I wasn't talking about team practice. I mean you staying out so late practicing alone. Then by the end of the week you've only got two nights to do your work for the week and you're drained. You have got to take it easier."  
"I can't. We are going to win against Slytherin. We have to."  
"We will," Renata told him with confidence.  
"What makes you so sure?"  
"Because Harry, I am up at quarter to six every morning and by six I'm on the field. At seven I come back to fall asleep a little longer and I am rejuvenated for the day's schoolwork, simple as that. If I don't let the Slytherins score and you get the Snitch, it's a done deal. Of course, I don't doubt that the twins will always keep us from getting bludgeoned by the Bludgers. And I know Katie, Angelina, and Alicia will score plenty against those dorks from Slytherin. After all think about it. What's their team? Malfoy's dad bought his way onto the team. I've got no clue how he managed to get the Captain position. And most of the others are big and stupid. The only one who might be a slight problem is Taylor Nott; she's the Slytherin Keeper. Only thing is she can fly well enough and if she can just get herself in front of whichever hoop in time there isn't much shot of the Quaffle getting past her. Although, she looks like her flying has been improving. I hear she does some extra practice too. I've run into her once or twice in the mornings. She's certainly not the most genial of companions though, that's certain. Night all. I'm bushed. I'm going up to bed." Renata stretched her arms, yawned and went upstairs.  
Hermione and Ron didn't allow Harry to stay downstairs much longer and told him that if he didn't go upstairs they would slip a sleeping potion in his drink at dinner the next day.  
"Besides," Ron said as they mounted the stairs, "we've got Snape tomorrow."  
"Again?" Harry groaned. Potions with Snape had always been a torture sessions for him.  
"Yep."  
Harry and Ron both looked at the bed that had now been empty for about two months. Neither said a word as they climbed into their own beds. Harry had a feeling Ron was thinking the same thing as he was: wondering if Neville was all right.  
It was a couple weeks later on Friday when the Gryffindors and Slytherins showed up for their Care of Magical Creatures class they were surprised for the second time that day (McGonagall had substituted for Snape because he was in the hospital wing with the flu). The Gryffindors were shocked and the Slytherins were pleased to find that Hagrid was absent. No one expected the man who came out of Hagrid's hut.  
"Hello students. Its good to see you all again, for those of you who do not remember, I am Professor Lupin. Today we shall be studying-"  
Dean asked, "Where's Hagrid?"  
"He is unavailable at the moment. He left this morning to visit some relatives. He did however leave instructions. We will be observing-"  
"When will he be back?" inquired Seamus.  
"He told me a week, two weeks at the most. As I was saying today we shall be studying kobolds."  
Chatter broke out among the students.  
"Aren't kobolds dangerous?"  
"I thought there weren't many of those left around here?"  
"Kobolds are not often found in England. They are native to Germany but can occasionally be found here. Does anyone know why?"  
Hermione's hand shot into the air, knocking Harry's glasses askew. "Kobolds are suited to the hilly terrain of northern Germany and the thick forests. Kobolds were brought here to be trained and to become sort of slaves like the house-elves."  
Ron muttered to Harry, "She still hasn't given up on the house-elf thing."  
Harry remembered all too well S.P.E.W. Hermione's attempt to liberate the house-elves. It had failed miserably. The elves liked working, they didn't want vacations or wages.  
Hermione scowled at Ron and continued. "But unlike house-elves, kobolds are vicious by nature. With sharp teeth and claws and their ability to run and cover great distances quickly they are great hunters and they remain quite wild. So far very few have ever been tamed and thus wizards have given up any such attempt."  
"Very good, Hermione. I couldn't have put it better myself. Now class there was a problem with the kobold that was being sent here so we won't get any hands on experience with one until next week. For homework just read the chapter in your magical creatures books about kobolds. Class dismissed."  
When they sat down to dinner later that night Renata was thoughtful. "I still don't understand why he was here."  
"Why who was here?"  
"My uncle."  
"He said he was substituting for Hagrid."  
"He said that but they could have gotten any teacher already here to sub. No it was something else."  
The others found nothing else to support her theory but she was unshakable from it.  
"Let's go to Quiditch practice," Harry told her, shaking his head as he stood. "We'll see you two later."  
"Alright. Bye Harry."  
"Bye Renata."  
Harry and Renata walked in silence for a few minutes. Harry stopped short and Renata nearly crashed into him.  
"What did you do that for?"  
"Ssh! Listen!" he whispered.  
Footsteps were coming down the hall. Harry ducked behind a statue of Edgar the Audacious and pulled Renata down with him. They watched as Snape walked side by side with Filch.  
"So you've heard nothing?"  
"No Argus. No news. What makes you so sure he'd come to me anyway?"  
"Because-"  
"Because what? Because of my old connections? I told you I changed. After what they did.well I told you all. Is Dumbledore the only one who believes in second chances?"  
"No. Go. I'm through talking, but I warn you Severus."  
"Fine, let me be warned but in turn I warn you, Argus. Any finger pointing and you'll be the one who needs to watch your back."  
Argus started to shuffle off but Snape's cold voice cut through the air once more.  
"And don't let me catch you trying to get into my office again. You'd never do it anyways of course, you've got no magic, but don't even think about it." Snape gilded off in one direction and Filch stormed off in another.  
When they were sure the men were gone Harry and Renata stood and headed the rest of the way out the castle and onto the Quiditch field. They took their brooms from the shed and waited for the rest of the team to arrive.  
After practice Harry and Renata didn't stick around long. They rushed back to Gryffindor Tower and went to talk to Ron and Hermione.  
Harry sat down, "You won't believe what we heard Snape say." He told Ron and Hermione about the conversation he and Renata had heard.  
"So much for Snape being in bed with the flu," snorted Ron.  
"What ever happened to a simple school life?" asked Hermione.  
Harry sighed, "I guess that ended when we stepped off the train five years ago."  
"I think you're right."  
"Simple life just doesn't exist," Ron said, shaking his head.  
Renata frowned, "Sure it does. I don't like simpler life but it exists. Look at Parvati and Lavender; they read magazines, do their schoolwork, see? That's as simple as it gets. Personally, I don't like it when things are that easy. There's no fun in life. At least no fun if life's just: Quiditch, class, and homework."  
Harry turned to Ron, "Why is it she's right so often?" he muttered.  
Renata overheard. "Because, it's more fun that way. I like being right. So what do we do about Snape?"  
"There's nothing we can do except keep watching him," Hermione pointed out.  
"Then that's what I'll do. Dumbledore trusts him but I've got doubts."  
Harry agreed. There had always been something about Snape; he was slimy and cruel.  
Time was growing short and the Quiditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin drew closer. With only eight days remaining until the big match tension between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors grew.  
Slytherins tried to trip Gryffindors in halls, the Gryffindors insulted them in return and received insults right back at them.  
Harry had moved team practice to five times a week and he himself was practicing nearly everyday, waking up early to practice before classes, staying out late to practice after, and practicing whenever else he could.  
Despite protests from Ron, Hermione, and even Renata too, Harry continued to practice until it was nearly a compulsion. Soon even his teachers were worried.  
"Potter, stay a moment please."  
"Yes, Professor McGonagall." He yawned.  
"I've been asked to speak with you about your Quiditch practicing. Your other teachers have been getting worried. So have I. You've been falling asleep in class and two teachers told me you had a late assignment in their classes. What have you got to say for yourself?"  
"The match is Saturday. Please there's only five days until the match and that's counting today."  
"You need to cut down on that practice. It's affecting your schoolwork. If this continues you will be put on probation."  
"But-"  
"Potter I want Gryffindor to win as much as anyone but you are the only one who can anything about that. Keep up with your work and stay awake in class and there won't be a problem. Understood?"  
"Yes, Professor." He turned and left.  
His friends had been standing just outside the door.  
Renata's arms were folded in satisfaction. "That's what we've been telling you all week."  
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."  
Hermione and Ron kept Harry inside doing his homework instead of at the field that night.  
Renata had called over her shoulder, "Don't worry I'll tell the team you wanted to be out there."  
Hermione helped him and Ron with their homework. Then around nine she disappeared saying she'd be back in a bit. Done with his homework, Harry had time to relax a bit.  
Hermione came back up with three steaming mugs of cocoa. "Here I brought these up from the kitchen." She passed each of them a mug. "Cheers."  
Harry drank his cocoa sitting in a chair by the fire. Afterwards he didn't remember anything else.  
*************************************************  
When Harry woke, everyone in his dorm was getting dressed for class. He got dress and went down to the Great Hall to see Hermione.  
"Did you sleep well?" she asked  
"I did but you put something in that drink last night, didn't you?"  
Ron came up behind him. "She really didn't have much of a choice. You needed rest."  
"You're right," Harry sighed, but he didn't yawn; he wasn't in the least bit tired.  
That day in Charms they were working on Drying Charms. They'd each been given a leaf with a little water on it. The goal was to get rid of the water without drying up the leaf. Lavender overdid the charm and ended up withering it. Seamus overdid his as well but not nearly as badly.  
As they left, Professor Flitwick squeaked, "Don't forget! Everyone read chapter 16 for homework!"  
Later that day on the way to lunch Harry ran into Draco Malfoy.  
"Scared, Potter? You're going to lose that match you know. A Bludger will come, it'll hit you on the head, you'll fall off your broom, crash, hit the ground, and never move again."  
"Are you threatening me?"  
"Of course not, Potter," he mocked. "Why would I? I'm just stating the facts, Potter: You'll be the second to go. Diggory got it first next it's you. You and those Muggle-Lovers and Mudbloods!"  
"Don't you mean third?" Harry thought angrily about how long Neville had been missing, and what had happened to Cedric last year.  
"You're right. But it was his fault. Longbottom never had enough brains to fill a spoon. You're next, Potter, you and your Mudblood friends. I told you that company needed to be chosen carefully. You chose wrong! You're on the losing side and you can't go back."  
Harry pulled out his wand. "They are witches. Don't say a word about them or Ron."  
Malfoy turned to leave, "You all need to watch your back. You're gonna get it. The Dark Lord will see to it that you do. You and all the other trash who deserve it!"  
Harry would have jinxed him, then and there, but it was unsportsman- like and dishonorable to do that when your opponent's back was turned. By the time Harry got to the Gryffindor table he was steaming.  
"What is it?" asked Ron.  
"Malfoy."  
"If that git is badmouthing Hermione again, I'm gonna-"  
"He called Hermione and Renata Mudbloods." It was just about the worst thing you could call a wizard or witch. It insulted their very blood, saying that because they had Muggle blood in them they were worthless. "Well, Malfoy is going to pay at that match this Saturday."  
"He'll regret it all right." They decided to go back to plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled. It relieved some of the malevolent feelings that his remarks had caused.  
That night, after Quiditch practice, Harry circled the field several more times. He looked down and saw Renata sitting on the field. He landed.  
"What're you still doing out here?"  
"Waiting for you. I wanted to make sure you came in. If you're on probation it will lower our chances of winning. Can't have you fall asleep in class."  
"I thought you said you wanted a chance to play as Seeker in one of our matches."  
"I did say that but I'd rather get a chance to play my own position. I haven't gotten to be Keeper once this year, at least not for any of the games."  
"Fine let's go back to the castle."  
"Good. Draco Malfoy is going to pay."  
"You heard about what he said earlier?"  
"I heard alright and that's why he's gonna get it. I'll slow him down with an Impediment Curse then use Jelly Legs and the Furnunculus Curse then- "  
"Trust me Jelly Legs and Furnunculus are a bad combination He'll end up with tentacles on his face. Never mind, that's a good thing."  
As they went back to the castle Renata started listing all the curses she wanted to use on Malfoy, listening Harry became very glad she wasn't plotting to use those curses against him.  
Thursday passed by quickly but on Friday Harry was getting worried again. That night he called a meeting at the Quiditch lockers instead of a practice. "If we practice tonight we might be tired out tomorrow. So I just want to go over our strategies tonight and then we'll be done." Harry showed the team several different diagrams, which involved lengthy explanations.  
When they were leaving Harry tripped and fell. He tried to stand and couldn't put any weight on the foot. The twins and Renata saw him. 


	21. Disaster and Vacations

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay this is set like thirty seconds after the end of the last chapter, so there's nothing missing. Sorry if there was some confusion. Harry fell down and now they're talking.  
  
"What is it Harry?"  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"I think I busted my ankle."  
  
They helped Harry up to the Tower but he refused to go to the Hospital. "If Madam Pomfrey sees me she'll never let me go to the game tomorrow."  
  
When they got to the Tower Harry took off his left sock and shoe. Hermione inspected it. "This doesn't look good, Harry. You shouldn't be walking on this. It will be even more swollen by tomorrow."  
  
"Can't you do anything?" The thought of how bad Malfoy would get if he missed the match was unbearable, if he didn't play but Gryffindor won anyway the torturing taunts would be worse than if he played and lost.  
  
"I've gotta play tomorrow, Hermione."  
  
"I'll see what I can do but I don't know how much I can help. If I fix your foot well enough tonight but not completely, you'll have to go to Madam Pomfrey after the match tomorrow."  
  
"I will, just see what you can do for the foot now."  
  
"I think it's sprained and there might be a fracture." Hermione used the best healing charms she knew it was still sore but it was better. "In the morning do you want me to numb it or leave it how it is now? I can't guarantee it will feel any better, though. But I did get rid of the fracture."  
  
"It'll be fine. Thanks."  
  
"I might have some more of that sleeping draft left that I made last week. Do you want it? You need sleep and it might be hard if you're foot is sore."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Hermione went upstairs and brought Harry back a vial of a bluish liquid. "You might want to drink this upstairs. It works fast."  
  
"Thanks again, Hermione."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
Harry made his way up to his room, put on his pajamas, and drank the vial as he climbed into his bed. He stared up at the canopy a few seconds before sleep claimed him.  
  
In the morning, when Harry woke, the first thing he was aware of was the pain in his foot. It took him a minute to remember the fall and that he had a game to play. He got dressed and because of the soreness of the foot and the bulk of the bandage he limped on his way down the stairs.  
  
He ate a little of his breakfast. The team went out to the locker room and put on their scarlet robes.  
  
"We've finally got a game this year with our full team. Now, all we've got to do is play how we've been practicing and we'll be great. We've just got to use the strategies we practiced and we can win this." Instead of pacing as was usual when Harry spoke to them before the match he was sitting down. "Everyone is here, right?"  
  
Renata whispered something to George.  
  
George raised his hand. "I'm not sure I'm here."  
  
Fred added him, "Me neither, Harry."  
  
"Stop messing around or you can both hand your clubs to Renata and you can sit in the stands," Harry told them, trying not to laugh.  
  
The twins put their clubs over their hearts and gave fake sighs of despair.  
  
Harry shook his head. "Okay everyone, let's get out there and give it our all!" The six followed him outside.  
  
Outside the door Hermione pulled Harry aside. She took out her wand and muttered a spell over his foot. "There, it should be numb for a while. Good luck!" She raced off to where Ron had saved a seat in the stands.  
  
Harry ran to catch up with the others. He shook hands with Draco Malfoy rather harder than necessary, shuddering at having to touch the vile slime, and then he got ready to launch into the air as Madam Hooch blew her whistle.  
  
Harry rose into the air and immediately opened his eyes and kept them peeled for the Snitch.  
  
"For the first time all year we have the entire Gryffindor team playing. In case anyone forgot, Renata Delano's correct position on the team is Keeper. And look the Quaffle is heading for the hoop and.whoa! Folks that's a long throw! It's nearly at the other end of the field! And.Chaser Katie Bell catches it and scores! Ten points to Gryffindor," Lee was running the last Quiditch commentary he ever would for Hogwarts. He really threw himself into it. "The Gryffindor Chasers seem to be using an interesting strategy: the girls are circling the Slytherin Chasers and passing the Quaffle back and forward, over and under them. Gryffindor scores again! Good job Alicia! Good job girls! The score is now 20 to 0 in Gryffindor's favor. Slytherin now in possession. Chaser Blaise Zabini attempts to score and once again the Quaffle is blocked by Renata Delano and sent whizzing back over the field, Angelina catches it and she scores! 30 to 0 Gryffindor still in the lead. Wow what an arm on Renata. Somebody get this girl on a Cricket team. Okay everyone still there seems to be no sign of the Snitch."  
Despite the steady pain in his leg Harry couldn't help doing a few loops when he looked at the score, "Malfoy! Looks like our team's kickin' your can!"  
"Really, Scarhead? We'll see about that!" Malfoy flew downward to avoid an oncoming Bludger. Harry wasn't so lucky. He flew upwards to avoid it and was struck in his left foot. Trying to keep the broom steady and rub his foot at the same time Harry looked to where the Quaffle was. Renata was giving another extensive throw but this time the Slytherin Chasers were ready and one of them caught it before Katie did. Harry let go of his foot and, while keeping his eye out for any glint of gold passing through the air, made his way over to Madam Hooch. "Time-out!" He turned and called to his teammates, "Everyone on the ground!" He waited 'til they were all there. "Okay everyone great job so far. Fifty to ten isn't it?"  
Renata gave a slight pout. "I still can't figure out how they got the Quaffle passed me."  
"It's okay, Renata. But they've picked up on the fact that you always give the long throws." He grinned. "Unfortunately they aren't as stupid as we'd like to think they are. You've got to vary it with some short ones. Otherwise they'll keep getting the Quaffle." Harry shifted the weight off his sore foot. "No one here's seen that pesky Snitch by any chance have they?"  
Madam Hooch blew the whistle for them to come back. Renata called to the twins, "Plan B!"  
"Anyway great job so far, keep it up!" Harry shouted. They took off. As Harry looked to the stands he noticed Ron, Hermione, Dean, and Seamus holding up a banner that read, "GO GRYFFINDOR LIONS!" He saw Hagrid sitting with them. Harry's leg was now extremely sore but he kept his eyes open.  
He heard Lee announce the score, "Another spectacular shot by the Gryffindor Chasers! 60 points to 10 points. Things are really heating up folks but that elusive Snitch is nowhere insight. Unless of course one of you out there has seen it? And another brilliant block by Renata, and what's this? No long throw! She threw it to Fred! Wait-can a Beater handle Quaffle? Well Madam Hooch isn't calling it so and Fred hits the Quaffle with his club to Alicia Spinnet and she scores again! 70 to 10." At last Harry caught a glint of gold. The Snitch was right over by the Slytherin hoops. Harry started diving toward it and he was hit! But it wasn't a Bludger. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Seeker, has taken Millicent Bulstrode's club and he just hit Harry in the stomach!  
"Foul! Foul! FOUL!" All of the Gryffindors as well as many Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were screaming the word. Harry took a moment to catch his breath and was then outraged that he'd lost sight of the Snitch.  
  
Madam Hooch called the Slytherin team over and started reprimanding them for such atrocious behavior. She told Draco Malfoy that if he tried another stunt like that she would remove him from the game for endangering players.  
  
Katie took a foul shot for Gryffindor and made it. Lee's commentary showed how mad he was.  
  
"After that open and outright bit of disgusting cheating-"  
  
"Jordan." McGonagall warned in a dangerous voice.  
  
"Fine, after Malfoy nearly kills Harry the game resumes and Katie takes a penalty shot for Gryffindor. Game carries on."  
  
Harry spied around and saw something gold-ish fall near Draco Malfoy. Almost too late did Harry realize that Malfoy dropped a Galleon to make Harry think it was the Snitch. Meanwhile Harry watched Malfoy streak off in the other direction. Harry put a spurt of speed on his broom and was gaining on Malfoy every second. He became dimly aware of Lee Jordan telling everyone that the Snitch appeared to have been sighted. The pain in Harry's foot had been growing steadily.  
  
Harry saw the Snitch, and a faster way to get there. He had the Snitch in his hand and then his broom was rammed by Malfoy. His grip on the Snitch remained tight but he lost control of the broom and started going down.  
  
Harry shouted, "I've got the Snitch! I've got it!" But he didn't have control of his broom; between the excruciating pain in his foot and being rammed by Malfoy, keeping control had been a difficult task. He was plummeting fast. With a deathlike grip on the Snitch he hit the ground.  
  
When Harry woke he was surrounded by the familiar white linens and the scent of medicine. He looked and saw a fresh bandage on his leg, that is, a blurry fresh bandage as his glasses had been removed.  
  
He reached for where he knew his glasses would be and a hand came out to stop him. "Oh no you don't, mister. You lie down and go back to sleep."  
  
"Renata?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me," she said gruffly.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Madam Pomfrey refused to let three of us stay in here while you were asleep so Ron, Hermione, and I have been taking hour long shifts. It's eight o'clock. Do you know how long it took them to pry that Snitch from your hand? Ages."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"At least twenty minutes anyway."  
  
"We won, right?"  
  
"Of course, you should have seen Malfoy! He was steaming. Honestly."  
  
"But he was right."  
  
"Whaddaya mean 'he was right'?"  
  
"He said I was going to end up falling off my broom, hitting the ground and not moving."  
  
"Then technically speaking he only got one out of three. You did fall off your broom but you didn't hit the ground and your obviously moving again."  
  
"Why didn't I hit the ground?"  
  
She grinned, "When you started shouting we all raced toward you to congratulate you, then we found out you needed a hand instead. Between Fred, George and I we managed to pretty much catch you and keep you from having your face plastered all over the Quiditch field."  
  
"I bet Fred and George have got a party going in the common room. You can go back if you want, probably be less boring than being stuck here."  
  
"Nah, my shift ends in a few minutes anyway and Hermione will come in. Then Ron, then me again; although I hope you'll be asleep by then. Besides, I'm not bored. You've got to rest and let that foot properly heal this time."  
  
"With Madam Pomfrey? The foot will be fine by morning."  
  
"Okay. Did you know the whole team came up here when you were brought up? Wanted to make sure you were okay. Problem was Madam Pomfrey didn't know how your foot could be hurt so bad from just a Bludger and she had to drag the story out of Hermione. All seven of us waited around 'til Madam Pomfrey said we had to go, but I guess that's 7 counting you. Well, 9. Ron and Hermione were in here too."  
  
"The whole team showed up?"  
  
"Yep. Here comes Hermione."  
  
Hermione came over and gave Harry a hug. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm always okay."  
  
Renata stood up to leave, "Bye, Hermione, I'll see you back in the common room." She turned to Harry. "Kid, you've got some amazing luck; it's nice to see that your brains aren't plastered over the Quiditch field. It'd just be too messy to clean up. See you in the morning, and get some rest."  
  
"Where does she get off calling me 'kid'? She isn't older than me, is she?"  
  
"I don't know. She never said when her birthday was. She's just being herself, you know. How do you feel? I explained to Madam Pomfrey about which spells I used before because some are dangerous if they get mixed."  
  
"Thanks. And I saw the banner you guys made for the team. That was nice."  
  
"Your welcome. We would have all been here when you woke-up but-"  
  
"I know. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let you all stay."  
  
"Can you believe it? You get to go to California. That will be fascinating."  
  
"It should be interesting to say the least." They continued to talk until Harry fell asleep.  
  
Harry woke to find Ron sitting in the chair next to his bed. When he saw that Harry was awake he handed him a pastry.  
  
"Fred and George wanted me to bring it to you."  
  
"Not hexed right?"  
  
"Not this time. That was awesome! You totally cut off Malfoy and got to the Snitch first. That was low! Him hitting you in the gut like that." Ron shook his head.  
  
"How stupid did I look when I was falling?"  
  
"Well you started shouting that you had the Snitch, so the Slytherin team was disgusted with Malfoy. They were all screaming at him. Then Malfoy saw you falling and so did the Gryffindors, the Gryffindors were coming over to congratulate you but then they realized you were falling. Renata and the twins reached the ground first and between the three of them they caught you, broom and all. We weren't quite sure why you fell though."  
  
"It was Malfoy, and my foot. He rammed my broom when I got the Snitch and I lost control and by then my foot was real sore. It was sore because I fell yesterday but then today my foot got slammed with a Bludger."  
  
"Ouch."  
  
Just then there was a knock at the door and Renata and Hermione came in. "Hey. We just wanted to come say goodnight. Because any minute now I'm sure Madam Pomfrey is going to come in and say we've all got to leave."  
  
Almost as if on cue, Madam Pomfrey appeared. "Out! I told you all you come back in and say goodnight. You have so, out!"  
  
"Bye, Harry, see you in the morning."  
  
"Bye, Harry."  
  
"Get some rest," Renata tossed a book at him.  
  
"See you all in the morning."  
  
"Out!" Madam Pomfrey shooed the three of them out the door. Soon she brought Harry a goblet of an icy looking orange liquid. "Drink up. Drink all of it, Mister Potter. Miss Granger did an excellent job healing the bone fracture last night but that Bludger gave you another one. And those muscles you twisted in your ankle didn't have the proper time to heal. Drink this and it will help."  
  
She watched as he drank the goblet of icy liquid and put on his pajamas. It wasn't long before he fell sound asleep.  
  
About midmorning the next day he was allowed to leave, but told to stay off the foot as much as possible and he was given crutches.  
  
He found Ron, Hermione, and Renata waiting in Gryffindor Tower. They watched with mild amusement as Harry hobbled over.  
  
"Feeling any better?"  
  
"A bit."  
  
At lunch Dumbledore stood and made announcement. "Everyone please meet back in the Great Hall at eight o'clock tonight for an important announcement.  
  
That night after dinner everyone remained in Great Hall. Dumbledore rose, "I would like the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quiditch teams to come up to the front please." The fourteen players came up to the front. Dumbledore smiled and his eyes twinkled. "It appears there is a Quiditch Cup that needs awarding. Under normal circumstances this would have been awarded at the field yesterday." He took out the Cup and handed it to Harry. He raised it over his head and listened to the cheers. The Cup was then passed along the line of Gryffindor players. Dumbledore made the teams shake hands and Malfoy gave Harry a look of pure venom.  
  
Dumbledore raised his hand for silence. "Now, as you were told earlier this year the winners of the Quiditch Cup will be going to the United States for a match against the Angels Magical Academy of Wizards and Witches. I'm sure many of you are disappointed that you will not be able to see the game. Well, I have good news. Sign up sheets will be going around for anyone who would like to go and cheer our school on. But spaces are limited so sign up soon! Remember there are only seventeen free spaces. Please see the Head of your House if you are interested."  
  
Harry and the others joined the people leaving and thronging in the corridor. He couldn't find Ron and Hermione.  
  
"They're over by McGonagall signing up to go with us."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They waited for them to come back.  
  
"It's astonishing how many people are interested in going. Dean was there, Seamus, and Lee. Over by Professor Sprout were Justin, Ernie, and Hannah. And Susan was considering it too. Near Professor Flitwick were Cho and that Terry boy with a couple of others. I don't know who they were."  
  
"Even some Slytherins are coming," Ron said in disgust. He looked to where Draco Malfoy, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle, were standing by Snape. He turned back and looked to where McGonagall was, "Look, Harry! That fourth year and his brother who are always bugging you are signing up. So is Ginny and I guess that girl is one of her classmates."  
  
They started heading back to Gryffindor Tower. "So, does anyone know which teachers are going?"  
  
"Dumbledore for sure and I guess the Head of the House of the winning team."  
  
"But McGonagall is the Deputy Headmistress, I don't think she can go. When Dumbledore isn't here she's supposed to run the school."  
  
"Well then who'll go?"  
  
"Maybe Hagrid?"  
  
"I just hope it's not Snape."  
  
"If it's Snape-"  
  
"I don't think it will be."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because there are tons of teachers who aren't the Heads of another house. Professor Vector, Hagrid, my mom, I guess not Professor Binns, but Professor Trelawny-"  
  
"Not her," groaned Harry. "The trip would be spoiled if she went. She'd try to predict the outcome of the match and then she'd say I was going to die."  
  
Dean and Seamus came into the common room. "I can't believe she won't tell us," complained Dean.  
  
"She's being completely unfair," agreed Seamus.  
  
"What is it?" asked Hermione.  
  
"McGonagall. More people signed up than there are places for and she won't tell us whether or not we can go."  
  
Ron started dealing out cards for Exploding Snap. "Sit down. So when did she say you'll know?"  
  
"Tomorrow at the earliest."  
  
"When's the trip?"  
  
"25th I think."  
  
"We get there, we play, and then we get to go home the next day. That will be it isn't it?"  
  
"Are you kidding? We get to miss a week of class."  
  
"A week!"  
  
"Sure, my old school was great. I loved it there. We can get there the first day; have a few days to practice before the game and then we can go sightseeing. Then we leave. I'm going to go talk to my mom. I'll see you all later."  
  
They spent a while talking about the trip before they all finally went to bed.  
  
The next day, after classes, the Gryffindor team met in the lockers. "I know I said if we won you could have the day off but I really need to talk to all of you. There's only 11 days until we leave for California and we need to come up with a practice schedule."  
  
"But we don't know what our schedule will be when we get there."  
  
"No, but we can come up with a schedule until then."  
  
Renata insisted that they only put practice three or four times a week on the schedule. She explained to Angelina, "Well, you know in a week he'll increase it to four and five times a week anyway so we might as well start out with less."  
  
The next day the list of the students going on the trip with the Quiditch team appeared. From Gryffindor would be: Q Harry Potter, Q Fred Weasly, Q George Weasly, Q Renata Delano, Q Angelina Johnson, Q Alicia Spinnet, Q Katie Bell, Ronald Weasly, Hermione Granger, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Lee Jordan, Ginny Weasly, and Clare Orwell. From Ravenclaw Cho Chang, Terry Boot, and Ashley Farnell would go. Hufflepuffs would be Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot. Slytherins going would be Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Pansy Parkingson.  
  
Renata's logic with the Quiditch practice proved right. Harry, growing tense in anticipation for the game had moved it practice to six times a week (the only reason it wasn't seven was so everyone would have at least one night to do their homework) and the practice was twice as long. In addition, the teachers seemed to be piling up the work.  
  
Finals were coming up as well as the O.W.L.s for the fifth years and the N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests) for the seventh years.  
  
Hermione was studying at least as much as Harry was playing Quiditch. "Well, the tests are almost as soon as we get back!"  
  
Four days before they were all supposed to leave things reached breaking point.  
  
"Harry, this is the longest practice ever! We've been out here so many hours already, when're we gonna stop?"  
  
"Not yet."  
  
An hour later, Harry was still saying, "Not yet." Finally the team was fed up. The team was complaining loudly.  
  
At last things got to the limit. "Look, Harry," Renata said. "We've been out here for hours. We know how to play. We know what to do, and we know the game plans. Let's go in."  
  
"No. The match is barely a few days away, we've got to practice."  
  
Now Renata was obviously working very hard to keep her voice level. "We've got four days before we leave and time after we get there. I don't care what you say and I'm going into the castle now." Her tone was icy and dangerous. "Anyone else who wants to come can come with me."  
  
They all started toward the castle, except Harry. He stayed back, dumbstruck. Renata turned around and came back. He opened his mouth to say something to her.  
  
"No, Harry, no. Don't you dare say a word to me or anyone else on the team. You better shape up and get yourself in control or you won't have a team to play with you when we go to California. Or, better yet, I'll talk to Dumbledore and tell him the team has quit. Then he can call in the Slytherins and they can go in our place. You want that? I don't think so but I'm beginning to think its possible. No, don't answer. Think it over. Don't speak a single word to me until you can be reasonable."  
  
For two days after that the Gryffindor team wouldn't step on the field or say a word to him. After the team had missed practice twice like that, Harry went to talk to Renata.  
  
"Look, I give in. You didn't talk to Dumbledore right?"  
  
"Not yet I haven't."  
  
"Don't."  
  
"I'll think about it."  
  
"We all leave tomorrow you don't have time to think."  
  
"Just keep your mouth shut or I'll go right to Dumbledore right now and tell him the team won't play."  
  
He instantly shut his mouth.  
  
"Thank you. Now look, I'm going to talk to the rest of the team and tell them that if you apologize they should agree to play and practice. But I'm drawing up the practice schedules from now on. Or at least for the rest of the year, anyway. We are going to practice when we get there, but not the whole time. I plan to hang out with my friends. It has been nearly a year since I've seen them. And California is a great place; there are tons of great sites for everyone to see. They are going and they will have fun. You will have fun too, whether you want to or not. Not just going to play Quiditch. Deal?"  
  
"This from little miss I-get-up-at-quarter-to-six-every-morning-to- play-Quiditch?" Harry asked Renata sarcastically.  
  
"Do you know what? I'm sure Dean or Seamus or any other Gryffindor coming with us to my old school would love to take your place at the big game. Trust me, keep up that attitude and I will arrange for one of them to take your place. Or take my place and I'll take yours. So is it a deal or what?"  
  
"All right. You win. I'll apologize and then you talk to them."  
  
"No, sit down. They aren't on speaking terms with you right now. Let me talk to them first and then you apologize. And by the way, I always win."  
  
Feeling miserable, Harry waited until Renata came back from talking to each of the Quiditch players. Finally, Harry got so bored with waiting that he went upstairs and started packing. They would be traveling on a Muggle plane and on a Muggle bus so they had been provided with a set of Muggle clothes, the first Harry had owned since going to the Dursleys' that actually fit. The teachers had also given each of them a half-sized trunk; they didn't need their schoolbooks and it would be a waste of space for each of them to bring their big trunks with them.  
  
He packed his robes and his Defense Against the Dark Arts book. He thought back to when he and Neville were in the hospital and remembered his suspicions that something would happen at the game. He packed his Transfiguration book as well, just in case. Then he added his Invisibility Cloak he left the Marauder's Map behind because it was only of any use at Hogwarts.  
  
When everything he needed was packed he went back downstairs and found Renata waiting, looking out a window.  
  
"There are six people down here waiting for apologies."  
  
"Six? There are only five of them."  
  
"Ahem."  
  
"Oh. Sorry, I was really out of line the other day."  
  
"Thank you, now go apologize to everyone else."  
  
Harry went and made his apologies to the others. Eventually they were convinced that he would lighten up. After which, he wondered for a moment; when had he started doing as someone told him to? He couldn't exactly figure it out but he decided that it was only when someone else was right that he listened to them, it had nothing to do with the fact that Renata had controlled the team so easily.  
  
When he was done he joined Renata, Ron, and Hermione. "Is everyone packed?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"What do you girls have to wear tomorrow? I got stuck with grey slacks, a button up blue shirt and a jacket," Ron said in mild disgust.  
  
Harry told him, "At least we didn't get stuck with ties."  
  
"That's true."  
  
"You guys are lucky. I've got to wear a skirt. A plaid skirt with a blouse," Renata said as if the words burned her tongue.  
  
"That's what I'm wearing, too," Hermione said. "What's wrong with that?"  
  
"Back home, when I wasn't at school, I was always in jeans or, if I was in water a swimsuit, but my friends heard me time and time again say I would not wear a skirt. I despise skirts. Trust me, they'll laugh and laugh."  
  
"But if they are your friends why should they laugh?"  
  
"They are my friends. but, you mark my words now, they'll be laughing when they see me. But it'll be great it to see them all again, just the same." She wouldn't say anything else about them. "You've just got to meet them," said shaking her head. " 'Night all. We've got an early start in the morning. We've got to take the train from Hogsmeade to the Kings Cross, then a bus from there to the airport and from there it's a seven hour flight to New Jersey, then after that it's another five hours to California, plus driving time to the school. It'll be a long day of traveling."  
  
Hermione said, "You're right. Twelve hours in air time alone."  
  
"So let's all get some rest, shall we?"  
  
"Yeah. It's early rise tomorrow."  
  
The next morning, at six o'clock Harry's entire dormitory was awake. All four of them were going on the trip after all. They were soon down in the Great Hall eating a quick meal with the others going on the trip and those seeing them off.  
  
The twenty-four students going on the trip, as well as Dumbledore, and Delano (filling in, in place of the House Head for the trip) all made their way down to the train station at Hogsmeade. A Muggle parent of one of the students would meet them at the airport.  
  
They got on the Hogwarts Express, but it took them in the opposite direction from usual. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata found a compartment to themselves and settled down. The train ride lasted was shorter than usual (the train speed had been doubled at least and they got out and went a short way to the airport in a Muggle bus.  
  
As Harry and Ron looked around it was interesting to see the boys in slacks and the girls in skirts, instead of everyone being in plain black wizard robes.  
  
At the airport they all checked in their luggage without any trouble. Harry was interested to see how passports would be handled. It was then he discovered that the Muggle parent who had met them at the airport owned the small private plane that he hired out and that they would be taking the United States.  
  
He got them out of the airport with little trouble from any of the security guards. Harry and Ron sat in side-by-side seats and in the row behind them sat Hermione and Renata. Hermione was well accustomed to flying and Renata had flown once or twice before, but Harry and Ron became nauseous, although they weren't the only ones to become so.  
  
They were slightly envious that Hermione and Renata could just sit there talking without turning green or needing to use airsick bags.  
  
During the layover in Jersey they stopped and ate in at a Nathan's Hotdog's at the Newark airport while the plane refueled. Harry and Hermione both nearly laughed out loud when he realized that Dumbledore was wearing an emerald green suit with a lavender tie and matching socks.  
  
They continued on with the next five hours of flight (this time more enjoyable thanks to a charm Hermione suddenly remembered that she and Renata then administered to any of their airsick companions. Draco Malfoy was paler than usual and tinged with green. Apparently flight didn't agree with him but he refused to let Hermione or Renata perform a charm to keep him from being sick again and as a result was completely miserable.  
  
This greatly improved Harry and Ron's spirits. Now Hermione and Renata sat in the row across from them and they happily talked most of the flight.  
  
"So what's it like there?"  
  
"You'll all just have to wait and see."  
  
"At least tell us what the Headmaster is like."  
  
"She is not a Headmaster. She's a Headmistress."  
  
They pelted her with questions she refused to answer.  
  
"So what are your friends like?"  
  
"You'll just have to meet them."  
  
They grew tired of this response, so Renata started replying differently.  
  
"What about the teachers?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What about the school?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What color is your hair?" By now Harry and the others were all thoroughly exhausted of this answer and just wanted her to say something other than "I don't know."  
  
After a moment's thought and a look at her hair, she replied, "Purple." 


	22. Warming Up Before the Match

"Er.Terry. We didn't see you there."  
"Funny, I didn't see you either."  
"If you want an explanation, well, we-"  
"We can't give you one."  
"I thought as much," he said dryly.  
"Great job in that Quiditch game today."  
"Uh-huh. I'm going to bed, I'll talk to the two of you in the morning."  
Harry and Ron went to their beds. As Harry lie down he realized that Malfoy wasn't in the room. Troubled, he fell asleep.  
In the morning Harry woke up and it took a minute for him to remember about the fish the day before and what it had said. He groaned. Today he would have to talk to Renata. Hopefully, between how many times she'd been stunned and the fact that she'd been given a strong dose of a sleeping solution, Renata might not remember as long as none of them brought it up.  
Harry got to the breakfast table and found that he had no such luck. Ron whispered, "You're going to have to talk to her right after breakfast."  
"Renata, is Rory going to be in the Quiditch match tomorrow?"  
"Maybe. She might be the surprise Keeper that Tim and Dan wouldn't tell me about."  
"I thought she was a Beater."  
"Yesterday yes, tomorrow, maybe, maybe not."  
"Then what was the point of the game yesterday?"  
"To have fun. It's great to try and play different positions. What's the fun if you just do the same thing over again? I'm going to tell her that today you should be.a Chaser. You need to learn to be a team player."  
"Well why don't we go find the others and set up a game?"  
"Not now."  
"Why not?"  
"I don't feel like it."  
"Come on, aren't you going to give me a chance at a rematch?"  
"Fine, I'll give you a chance to save face. Go get everyone."  
Twenty minutes later the fifteen of them were on the field; the fourteen who'd played the day before and Hermione there to keep score. The teams held quick meetings. Rory led the red meeting.  
"Ron, you're the Keeper. Harry, Chaser."  
"No."  
"Have you talked to Ren yet?"  
"No."  
"Then you're a Chaser, so sit down." She finished assigning positions. "Nobody in the same spot as yesterday? Good. Let's move."  
They were soon in the air. As if by reflex Harry started searching for the Snitch, that is, until Rory hit him in the stomach with the Quaffle, "Throw it!"  
Harry took the Quaffle in one hand and tried to throw it in the hoop, but missed.  
"Time out! Harry, you didn't have a clear shot. Why did you throw it?"  
"You told me to!"  
"You should have thrown it to him," she jerked her head at the third Chaser. "He was open, he had a clear shot. Up everybody!"  
It took Harry a bit but eventually Harry got the hang of knowing when to shoot and when to pass. He went down briefly and asked Hermione, "What's the score?"  
"Blue fifty. Red sixty."  
"Thanks."  
The game soon ended as Terry and Renata were neck in neck trying to catch the Snitch and Terry got it.  
As the game ended Renata stormed away. Everyone supposed she was just being a bad loser, almost everyone anyway. Rory and Hermione poked Harry in the back. "Go to talk to her! Now!" they hissed.  
Harry went after her. "Wait, Renata."  
"No."  
"Just come back over to the field."  
"No. I was wrong. You don't understand."  
"That's just it, though. I do. I've seen him and don't want him to hurt anyone else."  
"If you believed that you would just let me go and tell them you couldn't find me."  
"Renata, you've got to listen! It's his fault your mum had to rebuild her whole life. It's his fault you don't have a dad. It's his fault I don't have a mum or dad. Voldemort's the reason Sirius spent twelve years in Azkaban. It's Voldemort's fault that I've been stuck with the Dursleys. It's his fault the Diggorys lost their son. It's his fault for everything Neville's family went through. And Bertha Jorkins and that Muggle."  
"And the worst part is he doesn't care!" she wailed.  
"He does care. If he didn't care he couldn't feel anything about it; and trust me he feels something. It's not remorse or guilt, he feels glee and amusement."  
"I am going to get him. He will pay."  
"You can't go by yourself."  
"I'm going and I don't care if anyone comes. You should want to come to, but you don't have to."  
"You can't walk a hundred and forty miles."  
"I'll fly."  
"You've got to go back for your broom. You left it on the field," in spite of himself, Harry grinned.  
"I'm going back for my broom and then I'm leaving."  
"Think this through. You can't go," told her desperately.  
"Watch me."  
Harry shouted a curse out her and she fell over.  
"Ugh! Not jelly legs." Unsteadily she got to her feet and started wobbling over to the field, nearly falling with every step.  
"Er.Stupefy!" He went over to where she fell. "I really hope this is not causing brain damage."  
Hermione and Ron came over. "No luck?"  
"None."  
"She's going to be mad when she wakes up."  
"I wouldn't blame her if she started jinxing every one of us."  
"So what can we do?"  
"We just can't leave her by herself. If she flies off we've got to be there to follow her. I'd love to get a piece of Voldemort myself but I'm not stupid enough to go after him alone."  
"I wouldn't be to sure of that. But, Harry, what do we do with her until she wakes up?"  
"How am I supposed to know? I stunned her because I couldn't think of anything else."  
"We've got to leash her. And take away her wand."  
"Who volunteers to stay by her all day?" asked Ron.  
"Not me." Hermione and Ron said in unison. They looked at Harry.  
He started to back away. "I can't be around when she wakes up, she'll curse me for knocking her out again!" Renata was down right terrifying when she was mad.  
"We'll take away her wand."  
Harry grimaced. "I'll do it, but you know what, she is going to hit me and twist my arm off."  
"Not our problem."  
"Yeah, thanks for making it my problem."  
"Harry, I'll do the spell. Five feet?"  
"You joking? Give me some room to breathe."  
"Ten feet, fifteen feet, or twenty feet?"  
"Fifteen."  
Hermione took out her wand and said the spell. "There. Now where's her wand? Here," she saw it sticking out of Renata's pocket and grabbed the end. "I'll put this in the room. Harry, we'll stay with you so she doesn't get suspicious."  
"So now what do we do?" asked Ron. "We've got to spend the day babysitting this girl because we can't leave her alone?"  
"Unless you've got a better idea, that's right."  
Ron shook his head.  
"Hide her broom. That's the reason she was going back to the Quiditch stadium."  
"Right."  
"So what are we going to do?"  
"Library?"  
"She might look for curses to use against us."  
"Good point."  
"Tree-house?"  
"No."  
"We need something to keep her attention."  
"What would you say to getting her detention?"  
"How?"  
"We'll think of something."  
"Think fast, she's waking up."  
"Ugh! Why do you keep doing that! I'm going get you. Rabbit ears! Jelly legs! Buckteeth! The whole 9 yards! Everything I can throw at you! Where did I put my wand?" She reached in her pocket for her wand and found it gone. "Okay that's it. Who's the wise guy who stole my wand? When I find 'im he is in deep trouble." They allowed her to rant a few minutes more until she was breathless, then she got her second wind and started off again.  
"How dare someone take my wand? And no one can stop me from going where I want to!" She continued on.  
Then Hermione whispered to Ron, "Go get Dan, Tim, and Joey. we may need some help."  
Finally Renata ran out of breath again.  
Hermione spoke gently, but firmly. "When someone is upset they shouldn't handle weapons. In this case your wand is a weapon. Remember that day when there was the big fight between all four of us? Harry really lost it so we took his wand away until he calmed down. This is the same thing."  
"There's nothing wrong with me!"  
"Renata, just take a deep breath."  
"What? No!"  
Harry and Hermione watched as Ron came up with the three tall youths he'd been sent to find. The first one said, "Ren.relax. Look you've got two choices: you can calm down on your own or we will bodily pick you up and drag you to the hospital where we will tie you to a bed and leave you at the mercy of the nurse. The choice is yours."  
"I'll stop."  
"Good girl. Come on now let's go back inside, I think it's time for some lunch."  
"Okay." She took a few steps then turned and punched the boy who had been speaking. "Ow! Ren, you got my jaw!"  
But she was running in the other direction, she only got fifteen feet before she stopped dead, she couldn't go any further. "Okay! Who used the leashing spell? Tell me!"  
Ron came up behind her and pointed his wand at her, and she was bound with ropes and gagged. He turned back to Dan, "I think we've got it now, thanks."  
Tim, Dan, and Joey didn't move. "Are you sure you don't want any help? We've known Ren for years. We know how to deal with her."  
"We're fine. The three of us can handle this."  
"Okay, call us if you need us."  
"We will." He turned back to Hermione and Harry. "So now what do we do about her? She's furious, she's tied up, she's gagged, and we're all still here for today and four more days! We can't go through this everyday."  
"I know, I know, let me think," Hermione put her head in her hand. "The hospital. We'll tell the nurse that we think she might have a fever. With any luck the nurse will keep her overnight and she'll come back in the morning."  
"So how do we get her there?"  
"I say we tell the nurse she fainted."  
"Sounds good to me."  
"How do we get her there?"  
"By conjuring a magical stretcher." They stunned her and untied her. Then they undid the leashing spell. Hermione conjured a magical stretcher to float beside them and carry Renata.  
"It just occurred to me. Where is the hospital?"  
They asked the first person they saw, "Excuse me, where is the hospital?"  
"I'll show you." Their escort was probably no older than twelve, but he knew his way around the school with ease. "Here it is," he pointed to the door and left.  
They opened the door and went in. "Hello? Our friend here could use some help."  
A woman came sweeping across the room, "What may I do for you?"  
"Er.she fainted. She was acting a little strange so she might have had a fever or something. We think it would be a good idea if she stays here tonight."  
"Who is it?" She looked at the stretcher and sighed. "I should have known."  
"Why?"  
"She did used to go to school here and she was in here often enough; almost as often as she sent people in here. I'll take care of her."  
"She'll be allowed to go to the game tomorrow though, right?"  
"Of course, but she may just want to watch it from here."  
"But she's supposed to play in the game tomorrow."  
"Oh. Well I don't see any problem with that as long as she doesn't wake up with a fever."  
"Goodbye. Thank you."  
Harry, Hermione, and Ron left as quickly as they could without seeming suspicious; they were amazed that they had gotten away with it.  
They relaxed the rest of the day but by nightfall Harry was beginning to have doubts. "Did we do the right thing?"  
"You know she would have left the school otherwise and then she'd get hurt."  
"Or worse." ******************************************  
In the morning Harry woke, eager for the Quiditch game he knew would soon take place. His mood was only slightly dimmed as he saw Draco snoring on the other side of the room. He picked up his broom, and in case he needed it, his wand, and went to breakfast. He looked up as he heard the statues whispering to the portraits.  
He reached the table and found Renata sitting there. "Hi, Renata," he said. She didn't reply.  
As was usual before a Quiditch match Harry could hardly make himself eat anything. The teams soon left and went to the locker rooms to put on their Quiditch robes and talk before the game.  
"We've been training hard and we know what we've got to do. All that's left is to get out there and win this game! I know you can do it, and you know you can do it. So get out there and win!"  
The team marched on to field hearing the applause and the roar of the crowd. The commenter began the introductions. "The home team is the HOUSE. We have our Chasers: Daniel Vasquez, Timothy Monaghan, and Joseph Marshall. Our Beaters are Kirk Warner and Kurt Murdock. Elizabeth Holm is the Seeker and last but certainly not least is the Keeper and Team Captain Aurora Daria!" The crowd burst into applause again.  
"Visiting us all the way from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the Hogwarts Gryffindor team: the Chasers are these three lovely ladies, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell. Fred and George Weasly, twins, as you can see, are the Beaters for Hogwarts. The Keeper is our very own Renata Delano, who only just this year transferred to Hogwarts. And the final member of the team is the Seeker and Captain.Harry Potter." The crowd roared again. "Refereeing today is none other than our head of sports: Coach Foster."  
"Mount your brooms. On my whistle everyone up. Three.two.one." She blew her whistle and flew straight into the air.  
Harry kicked off from the ground trying to spot the Snitch. He rose higher until he could see most of the field.  
"Dan has the Quaffle, he passes it over Tim's head to Joe and.Joey throws it to Tim but the pass is intercepted by Katie Bell. Katie passes it to Angelina. Angelina tosses the Quaffle through the hoop and.Gryffindor scores! The Quaffle is heading toward Dan.but oh! A Bludger gets him first and he does not catch it. Gryffindor in possession again."  
Harry watched as Fred hit a Bludger at Tim and George hit one at Ellie.  
"Ooh! That has got to hurt, folks! These guys don't mess around. Where's Kirk?" Suddenly the wizard running the commentary spotted him, "There he is! Whoa, that's a mean swing as Kirk hits the Bludger at Alicia and it hits her in the shoulder. Looks like she could have a little trouble throwing now."  
Harry saw the glint of gold that was the Snitch. He tried not to look too conspicuous as he swooped downward. Ellie saw him nonetheless and went and cut him off from the Snitch. In those few seconds, when Harry had to turn to keep from crashing in to her, Ellie had caused Harry to lose track of the Snitch.  
But he noticed something else. There was a rat on the ground. He couldn't take a chance about it, he flew as near as he could without seeming too obvious and he stunned it. He went back to searching for the Snitch.  
"Hogwarts has 80 points, the home team has 70 points but depending on which side gets the Snitch and how the rest of the game goes it could go either way. Katie has the Quaffle again, she attempts a pass to Alicia and Tim has got the Quaffle, he attempts to score and Renata stops it and throws the Quaffle to the other end of the field. What an arm! That girl needs to be on a softball team. Angelina catches the Quaffle."  
At last Harry saw it again, the Golden Snitch. He looked to check that the other Seeker was distracted, Fred and George had both just hit Bludgers in her direction and it was all she could do to keep from being hit. Harry raced past on his broom and soon felt the walnut-sized Snitch grasped in his palm the silver wings struggled against his fingers but he yelled, "Hogwarts wins! I've got the Snitch! I got it!"  
All seven of the Gryffindors who had just spent their morning hurtling around on broomsticks collapsed to the ground in a large group hug. Harry, Fred, and George smacked each other on the backs. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie hugged and squealed with delight.  
"Great job, Harry!" Fred and George told him.  
"You two were awesome," he replied.  
They all stood around congratulating each other, then Harry got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't see Renata anywhere. He tore himself away from the group to go find her.  
How could he have been so stupid? Now was the perfect time for her to run away. She had her broom and people would be everywhere at once so now one would notice if she slipped off. As Harry went off in search of Hermione and Ron he remembered Hermione still had Renata's wand. Maybe she didn't run off yet without it. Harry found Ron and Hermione coming toward him.  
"Harry, great game!"  
"Amazing job!"  
They saw his face. "What's the matter? You just won!"  
"Have you seen Renata? She was here when we all landed but I can't find her anywhere."  
"I haven't seen her."  
"Me neither."  
"I'm going to go see if I can catch up with her, can you see if she's around here?"  
"Sure thing."  
Harry got on his broom and took off. He soon spotted her sitting by the part in the stream where they had found that strange fish. He landed a little ways away and walked over. "Renata, I figured you would have been gone by now."  
"I may be as stubborn but I'm not stupid, you know," she retorted.  
"And what's that supposed to mean?"  
"You know well enough, Hermione still has my wand."  
"Come on back. There's supposed to be a big celebration tonight, a feast and an award ceremony for winning the match."  
"I'm not going back."  
"Why's that?"  
"Because if I do all three of you will keep using the leashing spell on me to keep me from running off, or the petrifying spell to freeze me, or the stunning spell so I'm unconscious. I know you guys, I'm not going back."  
"Look," he stood up. He took out his wand and put it in his belt. "I'm not armed, now. Are you going to go back?"  
"No, you aren't armed now but you could still pull out your wand and curse me. Swear. Swear you won't use any of those curses on me."  
"Fine, I won't."  
"Come on, I said swear. Repeat after me: I swear I will not use a leashing spell, petrifying spell, or stunning spell against Renata. Say it."  
" 'I swear I will not use a leashing spell, petrifying spell, or stunning spell against Renata.' Happy now?"  
"Much better, come on." She straddled her Phoenix Flyer 340.  
"No, you are not flying back. We're walking."  
She made a face. "Okay."  
Harry and Renata found Ron and Hermione waiting just outside the Quiditch stadium.  
"Got her? Let's go back in then."  
"Stay a minute. During the match I saw a rat on the ground. I stunned it but I forgot to go back and see if he was familiar." Harry turned and went back in the stadium to find that the rat was gone. "I waited to long and the spell wore off."  
"Come on, let's go back inside the school."  
They went inside and washed up for dinner. Harry changed out of his Quiditch robes and into his Hogwarts ones.  
That night at the feast Harry saw Malfoy for the first time since morning, he was talking in hushed tones to Pansy and Crabbe. They were sitting too far away for Harry to hear what they were plotting. But Harry ignored him and had a good time anyway. They all laughed and talked about the Quiditch game.  
At the end of the feast the Headmistress of the school stood, "It is now time for us to award the winners. Will both teams please come to the front of the room to receive their medals?" Chairs scraped against the floor as the fourteen members of the two teams went up to the front of the hall. Each of the Gryffindors was given a small gold medallion and each of the HOUSE was given a silver one. "I just want to say that was an excellent match this morning, and we are proud of all of you." They returned to their seats and Professor Dumbledore stood up.  
"I couldn't have said it better myself!" he beamed. "Now I have a few words to say. Those here from Hogwarts must be in the hall here no later than eight-thirty, tomorrow morning. We are going on a trip! Be forewarned. Friday night we have a big surprise planned for you all!"  
The feast soon ended and they all went to their rooms. He had one comforting thought: if they were likely to visit the surrounding area, Renata was not likely to want to miss the chance and hopefully she wouldn't leave. 


	23. PostMatch Fun

At eight-thirty the next morning, Harry found himself standing in line in the Dining Hall with the other twenty-three Hogwarts students who had come. "Half of you will be traveling with Professor Delano today, the other half will travel with myself. She doesn't know it yet but Renata shall assist me because she knows the areas around here fairly well. Everyone, I want you in two groups of twelve."  
They divided quickly. With him, Harry found Ron, Hermione, and Renata, as well as Seamus and Dean. Also there were the twins, Ginny, Ginny's friend Clare, Hannah, and Susan. The other group was Malfoy, Pansy, Terry, Ernie, Justin, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Lee, Cho, Ashley, and Crabbe. The second group waited with Professor Delano; the others waited for Dumbledore.  
"Okay, everyone, out on the lawn." They made their way outside and waited for further instructions. They did not have to wait long. "Onto the bus please. We shall be doing more of a local tour today. We shall go see the Kern River and the town around it, Kernville I believe it is called. So everyone in my group please come to this bus and everyone in the other group please go back inside."  
They boarded and sat down.  
Harry wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione and so he chose a seat in the back.  
"Where are we going?"  
"I don't know. Dumbledore said the town that's not too far from here."  
"A Muggle town or a wizard one?"  
"Maybe. Is there a wizard village around here?"  
"I read about it in the library," Hermione said. "It's so well hidden that the Muggles here have never suspected a thing. There have been problems in other parts of the country, of course, but not over here. It's so peaceful looking."  
As the ride went on, Harry watched out the window. The trees were, for the most part, old and majestic; there were oaks, redwood cedars here and there, the place was breathtaking. As they came to the town there were little shops here and there, there were a variety of inns, motels, and bed and breakfasts. He saw the river it was swift and the water churned over the rocks with a fast current. The water foamed white.  
Harry was startled from the image of it when Renata came and sat down. She spoke quietly looking at the river, "On weekends in May and then through most of summer this place really comes alive. There's rafts going two miles down river, they drive up by bus from one of the rafting company stores; there's I.K.s too, they are inflatable kayaks, really great but a bit tough; people ride in inner tubes in the calmer parts of the river; and people fish here too. There're campsites. It's great here. Good to be back." She began murmuring the names of familiar places. Cheryl's diner, Ewing's, Mountain and River Adventure, Whispering Pines.The others had been listening to Renata but now she had stopped speaking, staring out the window wistfully with a trancelike expression on her face.  
They watched the river, and the trees in peace. Softly she spoke again, "I love it here. I've visited the east coast and it's charming but I'm attached to this place. Even the trees are different there."  
"You mean different varieties?"  
"No, there are different ones, yes, but it's not what I was talking about. Here, California anyway, in the spring things are a little green, by summer they've turned yellow with some green left. In fall they are brown, winter is our greenest season. In southern California it's basically the only rainy season. New Hampshire, Vermont, Jersey, they're different. They get their precipitation all year long; either rain, snow, or hail. In the summer a whole state seems like a greenhouse, humid and warm, and wet. You should see Vermont in autumn! The leaves aren't a dull brown that makes the whole rest of the world dreary; they are vivacious shades of shining gold, a flamboyant orange, a bright red, a yellow that screams out 'sunshine!' Just.in winter things die a bit with the cold but come spring everything is alive and new again. I know that's really just the weather but I don't know, they're still some other difference. Take an oak tree for example: out here the acorns are longer and skinny but back east they are short and fat. I don't know.it's the little things."  
Ron said, "It's what's home."  
Hermione nodded.  
None of them spoke for some time.  
Eventually the bus stopped. They were near a bridge that went over the river. The driver parked the bus near a little restaurant called Chilly Willie's, which was next to-  
"The rafting place!" cried Renata. Sure enough right next to Chilly Willie's was Mountain and River Adventure. Dumbledore and Renata got out of the bus, Renata was the only one of them, besides the driver, who knew how to handle the U.S. Muggle money and she had a decent chance at being recognized.  
When they came back out Renata and Dumbledore were beaming. Renata came and sat back down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I asked if they remembered me and they asked how they couldn't. I've been coming up every year for a long time. They said they missed me last summer when my mom and I didn't come. At any rate it's all set. Six of students and a guide in one raft, six students, Dumbledore, and a guide in the other raft."  
"What's the river like?"  
"Fairly violent, swift, and cold; it's all snow melt, you see. Have any of you seen the Delaware? No, you haven't. This is at least ten times wilder and colder than the Delaware. I've only rafted there once or twice. I've heard the Colorado River is great to but I haven't been on it yet. You guys will have a blast!" Her grin went from ear to ear.  
Dumbledore came back on the bus. He waved his wand and the girls all found themselves with t-shirts and shorts on over swimsuits and the boys had on swim trunks and t-shirts. "Everyone off the bus, now!" called Dumbledore. "Divide into two groups. Everyone grab a life vest and then sit on the benches outside here." The students, Dumbledore, and the other people coming to the area, put on large orange life vests and waited.  
After a while a bus came and they all boarded together, along with the other people who had been waiting, the guides, and of course the rafts being towed behind them. On the drive up the mountain they passed Cheryl's Diner; That Dam Corner, near the dam; Jamestown Market; the camping grounds; and almost the whole way up they didn't lose sight of the river. When everyone got off the bus they were broken into several groups, the rafts were unloaded, and the instructions began.  
Harry listened attentively to their guide, mostly because he still couldn't swim very well.  
The guide was holding a paddle. He showed them the proper way to hold it, using the t-grip. "If you fall out of the raft, try to hold you paddle. It will float. Be sure to keep your life vest tight at all times so that if you do happen to fall out you can be safely pulled out of the water without your vest coming up without you. Everyone's vest tight? Now if you do fall out of the raft, be sure to assume what we call the 'California Lounge Position'. Does anyone here know it? Of course, you do. Here, demonstrate."  
They all watched as Renata got down on the ground and lay down on her back with her knees bent, her feet in the air, and her hands behind her head. She then stood up and brushed off the dirt she had accumulated.  
"Great. Now also, if anyone falls out, this bag," he took a small bag with a rope coming from the end of it, out of a pocket in his life vest. "This bag will be thrown. Don't grab the bag! If you do, you'll keep traveling with the current until you are sixty some feet away. Grab the rope, not the bag. Got it? Good. Be sure to wedge your feet under the seats in the middle to help secure your place on the raft. Any questions?" he paused. "None? Good. Everyone grab one of the rings on the side of the raft and hoist it on your shoulder. Careful, it's steep here. On three we're going to lift it up, walk down this slope here, and set the raft in the water. Then I want everyone to get in the raft, secure your feet and pick up your paddle like I showed you. I'll launch the boat and jump in the back. Who is the strongest paddler? Never mind, no need to ask. Renata, to the best of my knowledge you are the only one of these kids who has been on one of these rafts before and you know the river; you take lead paddle. Everyone else, situate yourselves as you see fit when we get down there. All the other rafts have taken off. It's our turn. One. Two. Three."  
Together, Harry with them, the seven of them (including the guide) lifted the raft onto their shoulders. The raft was a little heavier than he had expected, but together they all made their way down to the water. The raft was set down and they climbed in. Harry was behind Renata. He sat on the outside edge, as they'd been instructed to do, and he secured his feet and picked up one of the paddles inside the raft. Across from him, Ron had done the same. Harry felt the raft being pushed forward a few feet and turned in time to see their guide jump in. He had been pushing the raft at a run.  
"Forward, paddle two!"  
Trying to keep time with Renata, the rest of the people on the raft paddled forward two strokes. They had entered the main current. The guide began to talk again.  
"You weren't all in sync with one another but we'll work on that. Now, I didn't introduce myself before but my name is Dominic Crestfield. You there," he pointed to Hermione, "When I'm not giving instructions to paddle keep your paddle out of the water and on you lap. You," he pointed at Fred. "Keep your hand on the grip. This is for everyone, never let go of the t-grip so long as you are in the raft." He looked at Fred and George. "I don't want either of you horsing around today. Did you see the sign when you came into town? The river has claimed over 200 lives since the 1800s. You've got to be careful out here." He frowned. "Weren't you two supposed to be in separate rafts, to keep you from causing trouble?"  
"Maybe."  
"Just possibly."  
"Likely. Too late now. At any rate, back to what I was saying: it's nice to meet you all; my name is Dominic Crestfield. You can all call me Dominic or Dom or whatever. Now the important thing is to listen to me. We're coming on a rock up here so back-paddle three."  
With timing only slightly better than before, the group managed to swerve around the rock.  
The group managed on at a good pace along with the current. Then they came to the first set of rapids: Big Daddy. "Alright. I want everyone to listen carefully. Three forward. Two back. Forward, forward, forward!" From the back of the boat Dominic was guiding with his paddle. Soon the water calmed again. "Congratulations. You've made it through your first rapid. Forward, everyone. I want to catch up to the other raft from your school."  
After the next set of rapids (Little Mama), George noticed something and pointed it out to the guide.  
Dominic chuckled and shouted to the other raft, "Sandy! How you doing?"  
The woman directing the Hogwarts students and Dumbledore stuck with her on the stranded raft brushed the hair out of her eye and looked up. "So, it's you, Dom."  
"Need help?"  
"No thanks. I'll wait for the next raft."  
"There isn't another one. Not from our group. Who knows when the next company will be down?"  
"Fine, come on."  
Dominic directed them over toward the other raft. "We're going to try to hit their raft, and knock it off the rock."  
As their raft approached the stuck one, Harry suddenly found himself soaked.  
Dominic howled with laughter, as did most people on the two rafts. Harry looked around to see whom else the five-galleon, but now empty, bucket of water Sandy had been holding had hit. Renata was thoroughly soaked as well and was wringing out her hair calmly. She whispered to the back of the boat, "Dom, you've got the Super Soaker?"  
"Of course." He tilted their own five-galleon bucket to reveal a large water gun inside.  
Renata explained to Harry, "The buckets are supposed to be to bail out the boat when we get too much water in it but the guides usually use them for water fights. Personally, I prefer the water guns." Calmly, Renata reached for the gun and pointed it at Sandy.  
The rest of them worked on pushing the raft toward trapped raft, at the same time as the raft bumped off the trapped raft back into the current Dominic threw the bucket of water and Renata began blasting with the gun. There were a few minutes of vicious water thrown back and forward using the gun, the buckets, and splashing with the paddles.  
At last, laughing, Sandy cried, "Retreat! Retreat! Forward paddle, everybody!"  
Looking at Dumbledore, Harry wondered if it was coincidence that the other raft seemed to go a bit faster than it should have. After a while they came to a place where there were no rocks sticking up and the water seemed hardly to move.  
"This is known as the Beaver Pond. The water is calm here and deep so there shouldn't be a problem with rocks. Everyone makes sure your life preservers are tight enough."  
"Why? It's calm. We shouldn't fall out here," Hermione commented.  
"No, but someone might push you out." Dominic put down his paddle and ran across the middle parts in raft to the front. He pushed Renata off the raft and then ran back to the back of the raft and did a back flip off of it.  
Renata soon resurfaced and clambered back onto the raft, grinning. She looked around and saw where Dominic was treading water beside the raft and holding on to the side of it. She offered a hand to help pull him back up inside.  
"Anyone else want to go for a swim?" Renata started squeezing the water out of her hair. "No one? Come on. Somebody has to go in."  
Fred and George consented to go. Renata took off her life-vest and after she pulled off her shirt and shorts, revealing a modest red swimsuit, she put her life-vest back on and jumped back in the water. The twins followed. Harry watched, amused, as Fred and George followed Renata around in the water and then with some help from Renata climbed onto the raft. They took paddles and began splashing those on the raft with them. From their own raft Dominic, took up the water gun. None of them noticed the two rafts coming up on either side.  
Suddenly Harry found himself drenched again, although he hadn't quite dried from the first soaking. The rafts had begun splashing them. Harry picked up his paddle to start splashing the other rafts; he heard a whistle and stopped.  
Renata was calling, "Back to your own rafts everybody! Retreat!"  
Gradually the rafts spread out again. Renata climbed back on the raft, but the twins did not. Harry had supposed Renata would reprimand or maybe taunt them until they came back, but instead, she jumped off again. "Anyone coming in?"  
It was getting hotter. This California weather was bad. He took off his life-vest, took off his shirt, and put the life vest back on. He didn't want to drown, after all. He saw Hermione sitting on the side of the raft with her feet dangling in the water.  
At last, with much cajoling, Renata persuaded Hermione and Ron into the water. After a few minutes Renata looked up and grinned at Harry.  
"Aren't you coming? There isn't that much time left before we've all got to go back in the raft."  
Harry muttered, "I don't swim."  
"What's this? Harry Potter can't swim!" Renata laughed.  
The twins chuckled and Harry felt himself turn beet red. "I didn't say I couldn't swim, I said I don't swim."  
"Uh-huh. Yeah. I'm sure, Harry." Renata disappeared under the water and Harry didn't see her for a long minute. Harry heard a noise behind him but before he could turn to see what it was Harry felt himself lurch headlong into the chilly water. Harry floundered in the water a few seconds before bobbing back to the surface. "What was that?" he cried indignantly, spitting river water out of his mouth. It tasted slightly of sulfur.  
His only answer was laughter. They were all laughing at him: Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Dominic, and Renata was roaring even louder than the rest. She stood on the inflatable raft still laughing so hard she was doubled over. When she couldn't take it anymore she stood up and did a flip into the water. 


	24. Icy Waves and Disapearing Acts

When Renata reemerged to the surface she splashed Harry in the face with the water.  
Harry sputtered again. "Watch it. That water is cold."  
"So is the water you're swimming in. I told you it's all snow melt."  
  
After a few minutes they all tried to get back into the raft; a task much harder than Renata had made it look. Dominic had climbed in without any trouble and Renata had done it with at least as much ease. The rest had difficulty. After a minute of ineffective trying, the twins allowed Dominic and Renata to each pull one of them up. The twins, who had been observing, hauled Ron and Hermione back in the raft without too much difficulty. Then, only Harry was left treading the chilly water.  
He tried climbing up for a few minutes before deciding the task was too difficult.  
"What are you waiting for? Pull me up."  
"Waiting for you to ask nicely. I've got all day you know, but see, here's the thing, Sidewinder is coming up ahead of us real soon and here comes the end of Beaver Pond." She stared at him placidly.  
"Help me out of here, please."  
"Alright." She leaned over the edge of the raft with her arms braced. "Let go of the ring on the side of the raft and grab each of my arms. Get a good grip." She grabbed the orange life vest where it went over each shoulder. "On three. One. Two. Three." Harry kept a tight grip as Renata hoisted him back onto the raft and caught her breath.  
Fred eyed Renata suspiciously. "How is it you were able to get into the boat yourself, pull me up, and pull Harry up, but George and I couldn't get ourselves up?"  
"It's easier to be in the raft and pull someone else up than to get in by yourself."  
"Still," he persisted. "You got up by yourself."  
"That takes a whole lot of upper arm-strength."  
"Like you've got it?" George snorted. "Your arms look like toothpicks."  
Ron laughed as well. Renata didn't.  
"I'll take anyone of you on in arm wrestling as soon as we can find some sort of table." She put her shorts back on but left the shirt off, it was still wet.  
Before any of them could respond to Renata's challenge, Dominic spoke.  
He looked ahead. "Positions. Here comes Sidewinder. Left side of the raft paddle forward, right paddle back. Here we go."  
Harry did as he was told. As he should have guessed, but didn't, the raft was going through the rapids in circles. They went over rocks, were bounced around a lot, and a bit of water came into the raft but they made it through in one piece.  
Dominic wiped his face and smiled. "Three down, two left. Water shouldn't be too bad for a bit but keep your grips on your paddles."  
Taking the opportunity to rest, Hermione asked, "What do you do the rest of the year? Live up here and wait for the summer rafting trips to start?"  
"I've got a place right near lake Isabella. It's a little drive but not too bad. Like a lot of the rafting guides I work winters up here at the ski lodges and summers on the river."  
"Why are there so many tents around here?" asked Ron.  
"Campers. People come up for a couple nights, or a week, or couple weeks, however long, and the rent space and camp. Some people go fishing in the river. Others like to go biking or hiking. Here comes the next set, little Las Vegas. Rock ahead, back two everybody. Forward three. Back, back, back."  
Again the raft lurched around and over rocks. Cold water churned around their ankles. Harry could feel the rocks under his feet.  
It was soon over and the water stopped the exuberant pace it had been traveling at and slowed down to one that was swift but more moderate than it had been.  
"One set left and these are the worst. Forward four. Ewing's Rapid. This one is a monster. At this one they take pictures. They've got a guy out there on a big chair with a camera."  
"Where? On the bank?"  
"No. Back one. Out on a rock. Forward 2."  
"How did it get the name Ewing's?"  
"When we pass, if you get a chance to look up, you'll see a big restaurant called Ewing's, up on the cliff. I don't know whether this set of rapids is named after the restaurant or if it's the other way around, or what they're both named after. If you're in the restaurant and you get a window seat you can see this part of the river. Left side, back three!" It was too late, they were caught on the rock. "Everyone get on high-side. Lean toward the side of the raft the rock is stuck on." After a moment of rocking they got back in the main stream of the river. "In just a second I'm going to say 'go' and I want you all to paddle as hard as you can. I want all of you to keep forward, hard and strong. If you think you're going to even possibly fall out of the raft, duck down, bring in your paddle, and sit on the bottom of the raft. It will be cold and wet yes but it's preferable to getting caught in the rapids and possibly not coming back out again. Forward! Go!"  
The water around them became more violent. Harry braced his feet and tried to keep paddling. He saw a flash of light a dimly heard a voice cry over the roar of the water, "Keep paddling!" A few seconds later, Harry saw Hermione duck down inside the raft. It wasn't long before they were finally through; the water calmed and they went under a bridge and to a landing much like the one they had launched from: a small dirt area, steep, and clear of weeds and other vegetation that surrounded the rest of the riverbank.  
"Off the raft. Tip it over, dump the water, throw the paddles in and stack it with the others behind the bus. Oh, for anyone who took their shirts off please get them back before you dump the water out."  
When that was done they crossed the street to where they had first boarded the bus. Dumbledore and the others were waiting. Many students had to stifle laughs: Dumbledore's beard and hair-both long enough to be tucked into his belt-were sopping wet.  
The group went into Chilly Willie's to get some lunch and ice cream and then boarded the bus that would take them back to the Angels Academy. As soon as they had boarded the bus Dumbledore waved his wand and they found themselves all dry, and wearing the clothes they had worn before the trip down the river.  
Hermione had wanted to talk to Renata but Renata stood up and pushed her aside. "I've got something to take care of." Harry and the others watched as Renata walked over to the seats where Fred and George were sitting. "Six o'clock tonight. Arm-wrestling."  
"We aren't going to arm-wrestle a girl."  
"Of course not."  
"Do you want me to sock you both in the face right now? I'll take on both of you and any one else who thinks they can beat me." No one else answered the challenge. "That's what I thought." She went and sat back down with a stunned group.  
Hermione asked in disbelief, "Did you treat people at the Angels Academy this way?"  
"They learned to stay out of my way fast enough so that I didn't have to. Most of them anyway," she grinned. "If it makes you feel better I wouldn't really hurt anybody. Well, one. If I ever catch him. Other than that I wouldn't hurt anyone."  
"You twisted that guy's arm on the first night we got here. Looked like it hurt, too," pointed out Ron.  
"He deserved it. Besides I strained an arm muscle of his for a minute and then he rubbed it out. His arm was fine. I had to prove a point."  
"What was the point of making him say 'not this, not this, not this'?" asked Harry.  
"Oh, that. That was a partial list of names some guys call women. Names I happen to find offensive. People have names. They shouldn't be grouped. For example, if a guy said, 'Wow, look at those hot chicks, eww that one is a troll, I mean come on! She has an off-centered nose and he left ear is bigger than her right one.' That type of stuff is extremely offensive and no one should put up with it. So I don't." The discussion seemed to end there. "I wonder what Dumbledore was talking about last night."  
"What do you mean?" asked Harry.  
"I mean what I say: last night when Dumbledore told us when to meet this morning he said there'd be a surprise tomorrow night. I'm trying to figure out what. It's something." She sat mulling it over as she watched the scenery.  
Harry was just glad that she was keeping her mind off of the fact that just days before, she had known Voldemort's approximate location. The ride back to the school was uneventful. The next day they assembled on the field at eight thirty once more.  
"Be in the same groups as yesterday. Today my group will be going to Dragon's End. Everyone back inside, follow me. Single file, please." Dumbledore led them through the Dining Hall and on to where a smaller room was. He stopped in front of the fireplace. "We shall be traveling there by way of Floo Powder." From a pocket somewhere in his robes Dumbledore produced a pouch and handed it to the first person in line: Susan.  
She stared blankly at the bag until Hannah whispered something in her ear. Then Susan stepped up to the flames she took a pinch of powder out and set the bag down. Susan threw the powder in and as she stepped to the flames said, "Dragon's End!" She disappeared. One by one so did her classmates. At last only Harry and Dumbledore were left.  
"Go on, Harry."  
Harry stepped up to the green flames burning brightly. They felt no hotter than warm breath. Clearly, he said the name of his destination and after a moment of spinning with the flames he was there. He saw the others and started toward them. He took a moment to observe his surroundings.  
The room he was in was brightly lit with lanterns hanging from the ceiling and on each table. It appeared to be a restaurant or inn similar in kind to the Leaky Cauldron. A woman sat behind the counter to talking to one of the customers. In the far corner there was a staircase that must have led to rooms upstairs. Harry turned and saw Dumbledore appear from the fireplace.  
Instead of going to the back door, Dumbledore led them to what appeared to be the main entrance. When the door was opened Harry couldn't believe his eyes. Waiting outside the door, just as calmly as you please, was a mountain lion of double the normal size and a reddish hue. It didn't seem to notice as the thirteen of them passed right by. When he looked again, Harry saw that the mountain lion was playing with a ball of string. Harry then realized his mouth was open and he shut it and started to walk again.  
From behind him came a tinkling laugh and a massive purring sound. Renata was rubbing the massive feline under the chin affectionately. Hermione stroked its head.  
Ron spoke before Harry could again open his mouth. "What are you doing? That thing's going to eat you!"  
Renata looked at him, "No, he's not. I've known Cameron for ages. Ever since Carmen has had him."  
"Who?" Harry asked.  
"This," she patted cat's flank, "is Cameron. Cameron is Carmen's pet. Carmen is the girl you saw at the counter. Cameron wouldn't hurt a fly. At least, he wouldn't hurt one he trusted. Let's go, the others are getting ahead of us."  
When they were once again within earshot of Dumbledore and the others they stopped. ".everyone split up into groups or pairs. At all times I want you with someone else. Please stay together. Now you may go where you wish but do not leave this street and please be back at the Griffin's Talon by 2 o'clock. Enjoy your day."  
Almost instantly Harry lost sight of Renata, at first he had thought she had left but then he realized he simply couldn't see her through the crowd of people around her.  
"Professor Dumbledore, five stores over, on the left side down that way is a place that sells excellent socks."  
"Thank you."  
"Fred, George, sorry, there's no Zonkos, but there is Gorbadoc's One Stop Joke and Prank Paraphernalia. It's that way, on the left side, three doors down. You can't miss it. Dean and Seamus, there is a Quiditch shop that way, left side, two doors down. Anyone else?  
"Ginny the um.what was it you were looking for? Oh, the bookstore! Right down there, first door. Who else? Hannah? Susan? Just looking. Fine by me. If Parvati and Lavender were here I could point out this great little place where a wizard I know tells the future and fortunes and stuff." The others all left leaving just Ron, Hermione, and Harry standing with Renata. "So, where do you guys want to go?"  
"Brooms."  
"Great. The broom shop is that way, left side, and two doors down. Enjoy. Hermione, remember that bookstore I was telling you about? Let's go. See the two of you back here for lunch at half past twelve."  
Ron and Harry watched as the girls left then they started off toward the Quiditch shop. They spent maybe half an hour looking at the latest gear and brooms before deciding to see if the twins were still in the joke shop.  
As it turned out, they were. George and Fred were arguing with the owner. "How can you not have Filibuster's fireworks?"  
"And what about Dungbombs? I can't believe you don't have those."  
"Sorry, boys, but Filibuster doesn't import his fireworks out here. Says the dry climate would be a liability he didn't want to have to answer for. As for the Dungbombs, well I prefer my own." He reached under counter and pulled out a small brown sack, he dumped the contents on the table.  
In revered and awed voices Fred and George replied, "You're the Merle Bugswollow. The man who invented Merle's Stunk Packs By the Dozen?"  
"The one and only."  
Harry came to the counter and asked, "How do they work?"  
"They come in packs of twelve, you see, the one here with the skull on it is the starter. You place the other eleven wherever you want them, and when you want them all to go off you set off this one. It's ripe when it explodes, trust me."  
Fred and George each bought several packs. Harry and Ron each bought one and in addition Harry bought a box that seemed more useful than foolish; the box was only the size of his hand but it could fit a full- grown person inside. The storeowner demonstrated, the only problem was, if you went inside you had to have someone else get you out.  
After the joke shop Harry and Ron went to the bookstore to look for Hermione and Renata. They weren't there.  
"Ginny, have you seen Hermione and Renata?" asked Ron.  
"I saw them, but they didn't come inside. They just walked right passed the window. Hi, Harry."  
"Hi, Ginny."  
Feeling no urge to look at books, Harry and Ron left and began walking in the direction Ginny had indicated. Passing by yet another bookstore they saw Hermione.  
"Where's Renata?"  
Hermione looked puzzled. "I thought she was with you two."  
"Why would she be? We left her with you."  
"Yes, but she said she was going to find you in the joke shop or the broom shop and she was going to say hi to a couple of her old friends on the way. I thought she would have found you by now."  
"I wonder if she was looking for us at all."  
"Figures she'd go and pull something like this. Where would she go?"  
"Maybe she was looking for old friends and didn't want any of us around."  
"Maybe," agreed Harry. But somehow he doubted it.  
"Well, do we go on with our day or do we look for her?"  
"If something bad happens to her it's her fault."  
"Nothing will happen. She knows the area well enough, right?"  
"But if something happens, it's our fault too because we didn't try to stop her."  
"What time is it?"  
"Eleven-thirty. Why?"  
"Twelve-thirty she'll be at Griffin's Talon. I think that's the café or whatever it was where we came in."  
"True. Let's walk around for a bit if we haven't found her by noon we'll go back there and wait." So they continued onward in the direction they'd been going. More than once Harry turned to look behind him.  
"What is it, Harry?"  
"It's nothing."  
They'd been walking another ten minutes when Ron stopped him. "Harry, what is it? You keep looking back over your shoulder."  
"No, I'm not. Am I?"  
Ron and Hermione nodded.  
"It's not really anything."  
Ron whacked Harry's arm.  
"What was that for?" he straightened his glasses back on his nose.  
"Don't lie to us, Harry. What is the problem?"  
"It feels like there's someone following us."  
"I don't see anyone."  
"Neither do I but it feels like somebody is there." Harry tried to brush the feeling off as he started walking again. They were nearly at the end of the street when Hermione saw Renata. "She's coming out of Journey with a Mystic: Darnell Tells All. Funny. This must be the fortune teller or whoever she was talking about earlier."  
"Do we follow her or see this guy and try to find something out?"  
"We split up. Someone go to her and the other two talk to this Darnell. Who wants to talk to Renata?"  
"Harry."  
"Harry."  
"Not me!"  
"Why not?"  
"Why is it always me?"  
"Because!"  
"It just is!"  
"Not this time. If Renata found out something about me or about Voldemort I've got to know."  
"Then go found out."  
"She wouldn't tell me," protested Harry.  
"How do you know she wouldn't?"  
"Just trust me. Hermione, you're a girl. You talk to her."  
"I'm not going just because I'm the only girl here."  
"Besides you don't believe in divination and that junk anyway."  
"No, but obviously there's something about this one that made Renata go, so I have got to find out about it too."  
Ron snapped, "We're losing time! Look, I'll go find her and see if I can get her to say anything. You two, just go!" Ron went off in the direction Renata had taken and Harry and Hermione went inside.  
Harry had expected the inside to be similar to Professor Trelawny's classroom but what he found was quite different. 


	25. Helping Yourself

The room was bright and airy, and filled with books. Harry and Hermione began scanning titles: Confidence: How to Make Your Spells Stick; Recovering from Spell-Backlash; Ten Ways to Make Your Spells Last; Changing What You Know Will Happen; The Power Inside.they were all like that.  
Hermione shook her head. "Some of these seem impossible, others look like they belong with medical texts, but most of them seem to be self-help books."  
A voice came from the doorway on the far side of the room. "Of course they are self-help books. What's the point of knowing more if you can't put it to good use, young lady?"  
"I don't know," Hermione answered.  
Harry studied the young man facing them for a moment. He wore loose robes and his lean build made them seem looser. His eyes were deep and grey, but they seemed to have a kind of understanding in them especially for one who was young. He seemed to be no older than twenty-five, maybe younger. Harry followed his gaze and noticed he was studying Hermione.  
Finally the man spoke, "You don't often answer like that. You like to know everything, you feel knowing keeps you from being hurt because if you know you can keep anything from happening. Now you know it isn't true but you would never say so. Am I right?"  
Hermione didn't answer.  
Harry took a step forward. "We aren't here to talk about Hermione."  
"You aren't here to talk about yourself either though." The man studied Harry at least as intensely as he had studied Hermione. Harry tried to stare back but couldn't keep his gaze for long.  
"You are afraid. Fear is a good thing really but you don't think so, do you? No, you don't. You see fear as a weakness. You don't want to be weak. The weight of the world seems to keep dropping on your shoulders but when others offer to help bear the burden you push them aside, to keep from getting hurt. You care about your friends so much that you refuse to ever put them in danger when you can help it. You-"  
"Stop it!" There was anger in Harry's voice and he didn't know why it was there.  
"It's because I'm right, you know. Yes, you do know. How odd. Who are you?"  
Hermione glared at him, "If you'd ever picked up a history book you would know who he is."  
"Oh, I think I do know, but names aren't important. Besides neither of you are here for yourselves or each other. I believe you are worried about a friend. Yes, you are. If you all stick together none of you need worry you know. Your legs are sore. Come in and be seated." He led them through the door where he was standing and into a room with several sofas and a desk. In one corner of the room was a wooden table with three matching chairs and a crystal ball.  
"What is all this?" asked Hermione.  
"The sofas and the desk are for those who come in the same state of mind as you and your friend; the table, chairs, and crystals are for those who come in a state of mind of another sort. You've really nothing to fear you know, young man. A philosophy you heard and once accepted was 'what will come will come and you'll just have to meet it when it does' am I right?"  
Harry had thought the question was rhetorical, but the man waited for an answer so Harry nodded.  
The man went to stand behind the desk and he sat there and pointed to a sofa for Harry and Hermione to sit on.  
"Are you going to keep speaking in riddles or are you going to help us?" Hermione asked.  
"Patience. I suppose you know the girl who just left?"  
"Of course we know her."  
"Renata and I have been friends for years. She was worried and wanted to talk."  
"What did she say?" persisted Harry.  
"Not much more than what you already know."  
"Just spit it out and say what you're saying."  
"I've already said it. But if you insist I will say more. What do you want to know?" he sighed.  
"Tell us what Renata said."  
"She was worried. Worried that the two of you and your other friend, was it Ron.yes, Ron.might get hurt trying to stop her from doing something she felt she had to do."  
"She wants to stop him."  
"Yes. He's hurt her awful and deep."  
"I understand it," Harry told him.  
"In some ways it's been worse for you, in others, worse for her. Even some cases where it's worse than both."  
"How.?"  
"I know these things. I talk to lots of people. Any other queries?"  
"Why all those books?"  
"I told you, I talk to lots of people and I help those that I can. If either of you feel the need to borrow a book feel free to take one, or as many as you need. When you have finished with the book it will return to me. Anything else?"  
"So, you weren't talking to Renata about where Voldemort is right now, or how she can stop him?"  
"The girl has more sense than that. She came here half thinking so and half knowing it was useless to think it. I calmed her thoughts and sent her on her way."  
"How were you able to understand about who we were without even knowing our names?"  
"Names aren't relevant to anything. I could say this quill is a book or a shnarkaz or a person but it doesn't change the being of the quill."  
"How were you able to know about us?"  
"There are little things you can pick up, especially when you fine tune your senses. Questions you ask, the look in your eyes, your bearing, how you stand, breathing rate; those sorts of things. Especially the eyes; a thousand emotions can rest in a single eye. It's all there. You just have to look."  
Harry felt better than when he came in. He wasn't sure exactly what had been said to change his mind but he felt better. "I think we can leave."  
Hermione looked at him a moment, "I think so too." Her tone had changed, it was the slightest bit puzzled but it didn't seem to be wrong being in her voice. "I'm going to look at one of the books."  
"The book you need most will always be the first to catch your eye," Darnell called.  
Harry stared into Darnell's eyes; there was fear in his voice that hadn't been there in a long while, "Is she going to try something crazy?"  
Darnell knew Harry meant Renata. "I calmed her for now but who knows how long it will last? Worries always come back no matter how long you talk to someone. Being back here helps her but I don't know for how long. The four of you need to all be there for each other or one by one you'll fall. As, I believe it was Thomas Jefferson, said, 'We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately'. All of you: Stick together."  
Harry knew the discussion was over. He felt like he should say thank you but the silence seemed to tell him that saying anything was unnecessary.  
They went to the front room. Hermione had a book in her hand and waited by the door. Harry saw a book on the shelf and before he realized what he was doing he took it. Hermione and Harry turned and waved at Darnell, then left.  
Silently they walked back to the restaurant. Harry and Hermione, as if by silent agreement, turned and walked away. They walked on passed the shops and back again.  
"Hermione, should we go back yet?"  
"Not yet. I need to talk to you, Harry."  
Harry nodded and pointed to a place that was selling ice creams. They each bought one and sat down to talk.  
"How did he know?" she whispered.  
"I don't know." Darnell had known things that Harry hadn't even admitted to himself. Fear. He could read Harry like an open book. "Why don't we want to go talk to her?"  
"Because, we don't know what she'll say."  
"She's going to do what she wants and we won't be able to stop her. Will we?"  
Hermione smiled, "We've never been able to stop you either though."  
Harry looked at his watch. "It's late, we've better go." They got up and started heading back to the Griffin's Talon.  
"Harry!"  
Fred and George came up the street. "Harry guess what!"  
"What?"  
"Where's Ron? He should here this."  
Hermione pointed, "He's just inside."  
"Great. We'll tell you all together." The four of them went inside and sat at the table with Renata and Ron.  
George was beaming, "Old Merle said yes."  
"He's taking some of our inventions and he's going to show some of his regular customers and see what they think. Then he'll send an owl with the general response."  
"Isn't it great?"  
"Yeah."  
"Now if we can just work something out with Zonkos we'll be all set for after graduation."  
"Yes."  
"We're going back to make sure we didn't miss anything there. See you all later." With very satisfied smiles, the twins left.  
"I'm hungry. Does anyone else want to eat?" asked Renata. She got up and went to the counter to tell Carmen they were ready to order.  
Carmen came and took orders.  
"Isn't it great about the twins? I'm happy for them. I'd love to see the do something with brooms though. I'll have to talk to them about it. Ron, think they could manage a broom that fell a soon as it was three feet in the air?" asked Renata.  
"Probably."  
Hermione got a look of alarm in her eyes. "No!"  
"What is it?"  
"I just realized I'm losing a week of time to study for our finals!"  
"Hermione you already know everything. It's just a matter of reviewing it all. In your case you really don't need to but if it makes you feel better, review when you go back." Renata shrugged.  
They sat for another fifteen minutes talking about this and that finally Renata just said, "Stop. I know you saw Zachary."  
"Zachary? We talked to someone named Darnell. I think."  
"It's like he always says, names don't matter. Zachary is the name his mother gave him. His father always called him by his middle name, which is Darnell. Some people call him Marcus."  
"Why?"  
"Because it's his way of proving names don't matter. My mom calls him Philip. It's just his way of doing things. What did he say?"  
"He told us to stick together."  
Renata closed her eyes, "'We must all hang together or assuredly we will all hang separately.'"  
"How did you know?" Hermione asked.  
Renata opened her eyes with a strange look. "Sometimes, I just do."  
"Don't do anything without us."  
"Nothing you're going to regret."  
She didn't reply.  
"We're going home tomorrow," Ron said.  
"I'm not."  
"Renata, are you saying you aren't coming with us when we leave?" asked Harry.  
"No. I'm saying that here, I am home. Hogwarts is just school."  
They didn't say anything else. It wasn't long before the other students from Hogwarts came in and waited for Dumbledore.  
Professor Dumbledore came in carrying a large bag. Ron peered into the bag, wide-eyed. He whispered to Harry, "Socks! Of all things, wool socks!"  
Dumbledore lined the students up and sent them through the fire back to the school.  
When Harry came through the fire he saw the Headmistresses pacing with a would-be-calm expression on her face. Dumbledore went over to see just what the trouble was, Harry and Ron pursued as closely as they dared.  
"Albus, we need to talk. Send the students to their rooms tell them to get ready for tonight's surprise, Heaven knows something must go right tonight. Meet me in the staff room as quickly as possible. The teachers are assembling there."  
"Yes Michaela, but what is it?"  
"Bad news. I can't say anymore at the moment. Just get rid of the students."  
"Yes, at once." Dumbledore turned to the students. "Everyone, to your rooms please we want you to prepare for tonight's surprise. No questions for now, but they will be answered in due time. Thank you."  
Harry and Ron turned to see Renata and Hermione retreating out the door.  
"Giving up so easily?" asked Ron.  
"Of course not. We're taking a short cut. I know where the staff room is." They followed Renata until they came upon a tapestry with a dragon depicted on it.  
Once there the dragon spoke, "I challenge you to a battle of strength! You must beat me to pass through here."  
Renata replied in an amused manner, "Since you made the challenge I choose location and weapons: the bottom of a lake, with water pistols."  
"I cannot accept this challenge," it said in a sullen voice.  
"Then withdraw it and let us pass."  
The tapestry swung aside and they went down a corridor with a door at the end. Instead of leading them through the door, Renata led them to a small alcove, "Sit still," she whispered.  
"What are we waiting for?"  
"A few more teachers are missing." Gradually first one teacher and then another came down the passageway and went through the door. Hidden in the shadows, Harry and the others remained unnoticed and finally dared to whisper.  
"How did you know how to get past the tapestry?"  
"You forget. I was here for a long time. There is another way to get past it but I never found out what it was. Ssh!"  
They heard footsteps and watched as a woman approached, wearing deep crimson robes and an unpleasant smile. Her dark hair flowed down to her waist and she stared determinedly at the door as she walked on and into the room.  
When the door was firmly shut, Renata scuttled to her feet and headed toward it. Silently they all took a position to listen. Harry was at the keyhole. Ron and Hermione were at a crack on the side of the door. Renata looked on from the crack between the floor and the door. Harry looked through the keyhole and saw at least a dozen teachers at the table as well as Dumbledore and the Headmistresses.  
The woman in the crimson robes asked in an icy voice, "Well? What is all this about, Michaela? You said you had something important to say, so say it and be done or I shall leave now and go back to more important things."  
"Peace, Natasha, if you believe so then leave now. We'll manage without you. The school vault was broken in to."  
"What was stolen?"  
"The Charter."  
From around the room came gasps and cries of "No!" and "How could that be?"  
Eventually the silence returned.  
A short wizard in the corner, wearing robes of a bright green inquired, "What are we going to do?"  
A young looking witch in mauve robes asked, "Michaela, what are we going to do? Is there any trace of what happened to it?"  
"None. If anyone hears anything of this report to me at once. For now, make the preparations that I informed you of earlier. Chandler, Josephine, Albus, please remain here."  
Harry and the others backed silently away from the door and into the alcove once more. They were absolutely still as the teachers left. Noiselessly they retook their positions. Harry looked in to see Dumbledore and the Headmistress seated at the table with the short wizard with the green robes at the table the witch with mauve robes who must have been Josephine was there as well.  
"What is it?"  
"Jenny and the students she took with her haven't returned. They were supposed to be back a while ago," the Headmistresses said with a voice heavy with weariness.  
"What happened?"  
"Did they not make it to the river? Or did they make it and not come back?"  
"They checked in at that place with the river and the Muggles and they came back their after the little trip but after that know one knows what happened to them."  
"Foul play, you think?"  
"Was there a ransom note?"  
"Yes. There was a ransom note. It appeared on my desk out of nowhere. I picked up a quill and where there had been no paper suddenly there was the note."  
"What did they demand? Whatever the price I'll pay out of my own pocket if I must, we must have Jenny and the children back here safely," she stood up.  
"They want the Potter boy. I don't know how they know we brought him here for safekeeping but they know."  
Harry felt his stomach twist into a knot.  
"How could they possibly know?"  
"The teachers at Hogwarts wouldn't have said anything and neither would those here."  
"The important thing is getting them back without losing Harry."  
"I would have thought that if some action was taken while we were here it would have been during the Match on Wednesday, but I guess even I cannot fully comprehend his mind. Has there been any sign of the rat?" Dumbledore's eyes were full of fire.  
"None and we've kept our eyes open."  
"Then what shall we do?"  
"Do we tell him and trust him not to act foolish or do we keep from him that we know of impending danger for him?" asked Chandler.  
Harry heard footsteps behind him but it was too late to go back into the alcove. He had been seen. 


	26. A Risky Venture

"Young man, eavesdropping is a very naughty habit. You will have to answer for yourself, the three of you as well. Don't think I don't see you in the shadows."  
"Er-I wanted to talk to my Headmaster and I thought I saw him go in there so I was waited to talk to him when he came out."  
The others nodded energetically.  
"Really? How many people does it take to deliver a message?"  
"One. But-"  
Renata stepped up. "He doesn't know his way around here so I was being helpful. I'm giving the three of them a tour, Professor."  
"You!" The professor had a look of malice in her eyes. "Didn't you leave the school?"  
"Yes. I came with the students from Hogwarts, for the Quiditch match. I'm the Keeper."  
"We'll see about all this." She grabbed Harry's ear with one hand and Ron's with the other because he was nearest. As she had no free hands the Professor nodded at Hermione, "Why are you standing there? Knock on the door!" When it opened, she roughly dragged in Harry and Ron, both in much pain, the girls followed.  
The Headmistress stood up. "What is the meaning of this? We are trying to have a discussion in here like civilized adults. Put those children down, Natasha." Michaela glared at her.  
She let go. "I found this one," she glared at Harry, "eavesdropping with his accomplices."  
Dumbledore stood up. "That's enough. Leave the students here and be on your way."  
"I will, but see to it that they are properly punished."  
"That will be for me to decide. They are my pupils. Off now."  
Glowering and tossing her head, Natasha left.  
"Explain yourselves."  
"We were-"  
"You had all better have a good explanation." Josephine frowned.  
"We wanted to talk to you, Professor Dumbledore."  
"About what?"  
"I wanted to talk to my mom," Renata said. "I haven't seen her all day and so I wanted to find out if she was in here that way I could say hello."  
"Well she is not in here so would you kindly be on your way?" remarked the green robed wizard.  
"No, Natasha was right. Why didn't they just knock? They must have been listening to us. Some punishment must be in order. Let's keep them from the surprise tonight."  
"No," Dumbledore said. "I want these four out of trouble. They will be required to attend tonight. Understand?"  
The four students replied, "Yes, Professor Dumbledore."  
"Harry, I want to speak with you later."  
"Yes, Professor."  
The students turned and as they left the Headmistress called, "And this time be far enough from the door that you cannot hear us."  
They turned and left. When out of earshot, Harry muttered, "Let's go."  
"Where?"  
"Anywhere but here."  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
"If I don't do something, just think of what Voldemort will do to them."  
"I want to leave too but Dumbledore will have thought of that."  
"Then what do you propose we do?"  
"Make a quick appearance at the party or whatever it is they've got planned, then we split. We should get back to our rooms. See you in a bit, I'll come when I've thought of something."  
At five-thirty Harry heard the call come from the ceiling. "All students fourth year and above, be in the Dining Hall by seven o'clock. Be in dress robes if you have them. I repeat, fourth years and above, be in the Dining Hall at seven. Thank you for listening."  
Ron looked up from the Chuddley Cannons book he was reading. "I wonder what whatever it is is. Did you and Renata set up everything?"  
"Yeah. When we leave, if we're lucky, we shouldn't have any trouble." He thought, but when have any of us ever been that lucky?  
"Good."  
At six-thirty Harry and Ron changed into other robes. Harry's were bottle green and Ron's were a dark blue. Harry was pleased that the twins had gotten Ron nicer robes as he had asked them to when he gave them money to help start their joke shop for when they left Hogwarts.  
"What is it we are going to, again?" asked Ron.  
"A dance."  
"Another one? Didn't we go to one last year?"  
"Yes, we did." Harry gave a brief and halfhearted attempt to make his hair lie flat and then gave up.  
"I guess we better go."  
"Yeah."  
Out in the hallway they saw Renata and Hermione. At first it took Harry a second to recognize them. Renata had curled her hair and she was wearing soft looking dress robes of an aquamarine hue. Hermione wore her hair up and was wearing pink, lacey dress robes. Both carried handbags to match their robes and wore dressy shoes.  
"What are those for?" Ron pointed to the handbags.  
"Thanks for saying hi first," Renata answered with a hint of sarcasm. "These are to hit you over the head with, numbskull. What do you think? These are not good getaway clothes. At some point we're changing. Let's go, everyone is leaving."  
Hermione asked, "Renata, what band is playing?"  
"I heard it was going to be the Celestial Siblings but I can't be sure. Someone else said it was supposed to be Celestina Warbeck, the singing Sorceress."  
As they entered the Dining Hall, Harry was surprised. There were streamers on the ceiling that never stayed the same color for more than a few seconds. The candles were being held up by live butterflies that fluttered around the room. There were statues, fairies, and so many decorations up. There was also a large banner saying: FAREWELL, HOGWARTS STUDENTS.  
"We should be seen by the teachers early so we can get it over with and leave," muttered Harry.  
"No, we shouldn't. We check in once at the beginning and once before we leave so they know we were here," replied Renata. "Come on, the music is starting and I like this song."  
"No, thanks. I don't dance."  
"What? You don't swim, you don't dance, what do you do all day? Play Quiditch and do homework? You're boring. Come on. Dance with me. It will be fun."  
As soon as a few more people were on the floor dancing where the tables had previously been, Renata and Hermione pulled Harry and Ron onto the floor.  
Renata took the lead as the dancing started; Harry was surprised to find that she was talking. "We should all be seen by a few teachers just to be sure they know we're here. If only one or two of them see the four of us they could forget. What do you think of this music?"  
"It's okay I guess."  
"I can't believe we're going home tomorrow."  
"I thought you felt you were already home."  
"Yeah, well, I still love it here but I'm beginning to miss Hogwarts, a little bit anyway. I wonder if anyone else has noticed that people are missing? They've been gone all day. I guess no one noticed because they were all getting ready; you know, deciding what to wear, what makeup should be used, how to style their hair.it's not bad but as far as I'm concerned it gets boring if that's all a person thinks about. The song is over, Harry, let's find Ron and Hermione."  
Ron and Hermione were already seated at a table and they'd just gotten some dinner. "Good. You're here. Sit down."  
Renata grabbed a plate on the table and picked up the serving spoon from the middle of the table. "Mashed potatoes." The plate the serving spoon had been in filled with mashed potatoes. Renata piled them on her plate then put the fork back and requested chicken. After she had the chicken she picked up her own silverware and started eating.  
As they all ate, they spoke.  
"So, students and teachers saw you and can vouch that you were here if anybody asks?"  
"Uh-huh."  
Renata pushed her empty plate forward. "I figure we stay put the next couple songs, talk to some people, dance again, we can switch guys if you want-I don't really care-then we take a break, dance a third time and leave before anyone knows we're gone. Plenty of people, faculty and students, will be able to guarantee that we were here and it might take a little longer for them to realize we are gone. We'll go, find the missing students and my mom, and all be back before morning."  
"Why are we going, again?"  
"And where?"  
"We are finding them and we are looking where the fish told us to."  
"The fish didn't tell us where to find them."  
"No, but we've got a really good guess."  
"The band is taking a break let's go talk to people. When the next song starts, dance with whoever you happen to be standing near," Renata said, rising from her seat.  
Harry got up and went to find someone to talk to. The first person he saw that he recognized was Rory, but it took a few seconds to realize it was her; Rory's hair was in two braids put up and crowning her head, the blue robes she was wearing went well with her hair.  
"Hi, Harry."  
"Hello. Nice hair."  
"Thanks, it gives me a headache though. Who are you here with?"  
"Er-"  
"The four of us came as friends," Renata said coming up from behind Harry. "Me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. What about you?"  
"You want truth? I came with Francis. Poor guy. No one wanted to come with him and he was looking lonely so I asked him."  
"How long did it take you to do your hair?" asked Renata.  
"Not as long as yours." Renata gave her a skeptical look. "Really. I had help. I just braided it in two braids and wound them around my head. Okay, it took a while but not as long as yours. Why did you bother curling it?"  
"I didn't want to get a headache from putting it up but I wanted to do something to it."  
"Why would you get headaches from putting your hair up?" asked Harry.  
"Your hair is too short to realize this but hair weighs a lot and if you pile it all on top of your head for too long it makes your head and neck sore."  
Harry went off again, leaving Renata to talk with Rory.  
"Harry!"  
He saw Dean and Seamus sitting down and waving him over.  
"How are you doing?"  
"Tired of this."  
"Bored stiff."  
"Me too."  
"You don't seem to be."  
"Yeah, you looked like you were having fun talking and dancing."  
"Who did you guys come with?"  
"Susan"  
"Hannah. They were going to ask Justin and Ernie but they couldn't find them so they asked us instead."  
"I noticed you got a date," Dean pointed out.  
"No, I didn't."  
"Harry, you're here with Renata. Or are you here with Hermione?"  
"Neither really," he said embarrassed. "Renata and Hermione came with Ron and me as a group thing. All friends. Easier than all of us looking for dates on short notice."  
"I still say you lucked out," Seamus said, looking to where Renata was talking with Rory and another girl. "Last year you got one of the best looking girls in our year and this year you've got a great-looking date again." His eyes lingered on Renata moment.  
"I've got to go. I said I'd dance again," muttered Harry.  
"See you."  
The song was starting and Harry noticed that Hermione was nearby and he couldn't find Renata. She had said to dance with whoever was nearest, so Harry went up to Hermione.  
"Dance?" he said rather awkwardly.  
"Okay."  
Harry was glad the song was short.  
They found Renata and Ron and the four made their way to a table and sat down.  
"Time check."  
Hermione looked at her watch, "About eight fifteen. I think we should stay another half an hour."  
"What do you mean 'another half an hour'?" came a voice.  
"Hi, Dan," Renata greeted.  
"We're all tired, so we don't know how much longer we're going to stay out here."  
"Ren, I know you. There is no way you are tired already, this doesn't end 'til midnight."  
"I'm not, but these three are party poopers." She turned back to the other three. "Another hour, please?"  
Ron faked consideration of an answer to her question. "Maybe.okay.an hour. An hour and a half at the most." He pretended to stifle a yawn.  
Dan looked over to the far side of the room, "I've got to go. Ellie's waiting."  
"You came with her? Like a date?"  
"Me, Tim, and Joe all came with her here. It just happens to be my turn to dance with her. See you guys later."  
Renata said quietly to his retreating back, "Don't be so sure."  
Hermione whispered, "Half an hour and we are gone."  
Two songs later they were up and dancing again. As they danced they moved near a side exit, by the time the song ended they were outside.  
Harry heard footsteps. "I think we'd better go."  
Rory came out, panting. "They are coming!"  
"Who's 'they'?"  
"The teachers! Get out of here! Fast!"  
"How do you know.?"  
"You're obviously leaving. I'll keep them away while I can, but.go now! Are you leaving on foot?"  
"We hid some brooms. See you later," Renata gave Rory a quick hug.  
"I hope so." She turned and went back inside.  
"We're leaving now. Let's get the brooms." As quickly as they could they got the brooms from inside the tree house where they'd been hidden all afternoon under the invisibility cloak.  
Harry had brought his Broom Servicing Kit with him to California, fortunately it had come with a compass and Harry had put it on his broom.  
"Any maps?"  
"I've got one here. Let's go now before someone comes after us."  
"I really don't like flying," Hermione said, looking a little pale.  
"Unless you want to stay here, you've got to come and you've got to come on a broom."  
"I'm coming."  
With the aid of the compass and the map they started off. Looking back, just a short while later, Harry couldn't even see a dot of the school in the distance. They'd been flying for almost an hour with very little conversation when Renata said, "We've got to land and take a break."  
The others agreed. When they reached the ground Renata told the boys to go away.  
"What?"  
"Why?"  
"I should think it was obvious. These robes are uncomfortable for flying; we want to change. Now go on, we're going over to the bushes but we want you boys at least 50 yards away and your backs turned. Here." She threw each of the boys a bundle that she extracted from her handbag. "We brought you better robes too, put these on when you go over there. If we even think you try and look at us I'm going to turn you into toads. Blind toads!"  
A little embarrassed, Harry and Ron went away. They changed into the Hogwarts robes and cloaks that Renata had given them. Harry shivered; it was cold out here. The two of them sat behind a large tree and waited for the girls to call that they could come back.  
"Great, let's check the map and keep going." Renata spread the map out on the ground, sat down, read it, and when she was satisfied the brushed the dirt off the jeans she had put on.  
As they rose back into the air Harry noticed a change in terrain, it was desert mostly with Muggle roads here and there. They stopped several times to get their bearing and make sure they were on the right course.  
They'd been flying for a while again when Harry noticed something on the ground.  
"What is it?" asked Hermione.  
"People."  
"Muggles?"  
"I can't tell."  
"We better lose the brooms then and get out of sight. Fast."  
"Look there's a ditch down there." As quietly they could they landed in the ditch and looked out over the edge. There were nearly a dozen people in dark robes walking together and wearing masks on their faces. Harry recognized the masks, but he didn't dare speak.  
Instead he mouthed the words, "Death Eaters!"  
Silently they watched as the Death Eaters stalked off into the distance. Before he'd realized what he was doing, Harry had climbed out of the ditch and was following them.  
Harry thought he heard the others hissing behind him but he went on anyway. Then, he tripped. So intent was he on following the Death Eaters he tripped over a rock. The others used this time to catch up.  
"Harry, what were you thinking?" Hermione asked in a horrified but barely audible whisper.  
Equally quiet, Harry replied, "What I had to. Now let me up." Ron and Renata were holding him to the ground, pinning his shoulders so he couldn't even move.  
"No. You can't go."  
"This is something I've got to do. Let me go."  
"Harry, think this through."  
"No. He killed my mum and dad. He killed other people. He kidnapped innocent people from our school. I'm doing this. I don't care whether or not I get killed or expelled or whatever. I am doing this." Harry sat up, and pushing the others off him, he stood up. He began walking quietly in the direction the Death Eaters had taken. He saw them again. They were assembled and appeared to be in a discussion. Harry found a sizable rock to hide behind and listen.  
"Well, any word?"  
"None. He thought the boy would have come long before this. Maybe he's not as loyal to his friends as we thought." Harry recognized the voice as that of Luscious Malfoy.  
"Well, your son better stop whining soon or he'll be killed off with the others." Harry knew this voice to belong to the man known as Wormtail, whose name was Peter Pettigrew.  
"Quiet. He can get to you as well. I think it's good my boy is being scared. He's a pathetic little ninny. He could use some nerve."  
"I just hope the Dark Lord gets back here soon so we can be done and go home."  
"Don't let him hear you complaining. You know the punishment," warned an unfamiliar voice.  
"You shouldn't even be talking. I'm surprised they allowed you back."  
"I've done worse than you have. He can't afford to lose me. Unlike you slime I went to Azkaban for him. I remained loyal. You all denied involvement and took up with the Ministry. When will that wretched boy get here?"  
"Soon enough."  
"Well when he does get here, no spoiling. The Dark Lord wants him alive and whole."  
Mister Malfoy said bitterly, "Of course, the Dark Lord gets all the fun. I want Potter dead and I wish to kill him with my own hand. But no matter, what the Dark Lord wants, he gets. One way or another."  
A figure appeared in their midst.  
"McNair, any sign of him?" one of the Death Eaters asked the new arrival.  
"None, yet. The prisoners are waiting at the chasm. The Dark Lord is growing restless and will likely throw one in soon, come if any of you care to watch. I'm sure another will be set up somewhere as bait." Without another word he vanished.  
"I'm going, it's about time we got some sport out of this." Then all but Pettigrew and the Death Eater who had boasted undertaking Azkaban for Voldemort were gone.  
"When do we get to leave?" asked Pettigrew sullenly.  
"You don't leave him twice. I'm surprised he let you and those mongrels get away with leaving once. You won't be so lucky if you try again. He doesn't forgive easily."  
Behind him Harry heard a soft crunch on the sand. He saw no one but noticed some sand shifting in a line coming toward him. Harry kept absolutely still except for his hand reaching for his wand.  
Right beside him, Ron's head appeared as he flipped down the hood of the invisibility cloak. In a voice so quiet Harry was barely able to make out the words Ron told Harry what had happened. "We started to come after you but then this rattlesnake came out of nowhere and bit Hermione."  
"No!"  
"Quiet. Renata is back taking care of her in the ditch where the brooms are hidden. They're waiting for when we need a getaway. What did you find out?"  
Just as quietly, Harry relayed his story to Ron in as few words as possible. "There were more here, they just left. The students they took today are still alive but they are getting bored and they want to kill one until I show up."  
Harry heard footsteps and voices again.  
"Quiet, you. I'm sure I heard voices. This way." Harry listened as the other man and Pettigrew drew closer. He and Ron through the cloak back on themselves and waited.  
When the two came and found nothing, they were bitterly disappointed. They sat on the boulder and waited.  
Beneath the cloak, Harry looked at Ron and nodded. As quietly as they could, they stood up and crept away; they didn't head in the direction of the girls, they couldn't bear to go back, instead they continued onward the Harry had been going. Harry was tempted to send a spell back over his shoulder at Pettigrew but he held himself back as he knew it was too risky.  
It wasn't long before they came to a long crack in the ground. There were many cracks there but this one seemed to continue for a long time and it grew wider.  
Harry began to hear voices again and he saw people. There were those around who were in dark robes and masked; there was a man in a chair, and there was a row of people in chains, more than a dozen of these.  
The man in the chair spoke.  
"That one. He's been frowning at me since he got here. Come here boy." He snapped his fingers. Harry recognized the cold, high-pitched voice, but all the same he looked at the speaker. The speaker seemed to be lounging in a chair. He was thin and frail looking snakelike red eyes and a large snake was circling his chair.  
When the man had snapped his fingers the chains of one prisoner separated from those of the others and then prisoner seemed to be dragged against his will be some invisible force to where the man was sitting.  
"Do you know who I am, boy?"  
"Yes," he said.  
"Then why have you frowned at me all day? Disrespect can only be repaid in like." He took out his wand. "Crucio!"  
Harry knew the burning pain that the boy must have running throughout every inch of his body at that very moment, making him feel like he wanted to die, but he couldn't. That curse couldn't kill. The man laughed as the boy collapsed. "Goyle! Make him stand." One of the masked Death Eaters came and by holding his shoulders forced the boy to remain on his feet. This man was Gregory Goyle's father.  
The man smiled malevolently. "Did you like that? There's more you know. But I grow bored. Come, what is your name?"  
The boy simply frowned.  
"Speak now or I shall start again," warned the man.  
"Terry Boot." He said at last, staring at the man in the chair.  
"Boot? I almost feel bad to have to do this to a pureblood, but since you are no use to me I must." The man pointed his wand at the chasm and it began steaming. "Crabbe! Throw him in." The man watched with amusement as another Death Eater picked up Terry and hoisted him over his shoulder and he turned toward the chasm.  
Harry couldn't take it anymore; he ran out and left Ron under the cloak.  
"No! Let him go!"  
"What's this?" asked the man. "Harry Potter, you've come at last. How delightful. Come to me. Say hello."  
"No, Voldemort," Harry retorted with more bravery than he felt. 


	27. Facing the SnakeMan

Harry felt the light feeling of no thoughts, the feeling he'd only felt a few times before. No thoughts, just do as he was told, Go to Voldemort. Say hello. Go to Voldemort. Say hello. Then his own voice inside his head kicked in, No! Do nothing this man tells you to do! Are you stupid, Harry? Are you a total idiot? Wake up! He came to himself. "No."  
"Did you just tell me 'no' boy? COME HERE AT ONCE!" he shrieked.  
Harry held his ground. He turned his head to see if he could still see Terry out of the corner of his eye without turning away from Voldemort. He saw, and he saw that Terry was gone. "What have you done with him?"  
"I threw him away. He was of no use to me."  
"Bring him back."  
"I don't think you want me to. No, not really. But if you insist-" Voldemort gave a careless wave of his wand and from the chasm came a scalded corpse.  
Harry shuddered and felt himself nearly sick at the sight.  
Voldemort laughed. "I told you, you really didn't want to see that, did you? Come now."  
"No."  
"You only make things more difficult on yourself. Bring him." Voldemort snapped his fingers.  
Two powerful arms grabbed his arms and pulled him forward to where Voldemort sat. Voldemort stood up and stepped slowly toward Harry. He took one of his long, pale fingers and traced the scar on Harry's forehead.  
Harry screamed in agony. The scar pain felt like it would split his head apart if it did not stop. All he knew was pain and his own voice screaming.  
Then the pain was gone.  
Harry slumped down to the ground, his arms still held behind him, and Voldemort chuckled. "See? That wasn't nice, was it? Now, you are going to die. I can't decide though. Should I make it leisurely for all the trouble you've caused me? Or should I be fast and end you life with one sudden stroke of death?"  
"Who says I'll let you kill me?" Harry asked with a snarl, like a wolf. Struggling but rising to his feet with a grimace he continued. "I dare you to let me face you man to man. A wizard's duel. If I am to die I will die as my father did."  
"No, a runt like you. You're not a man. You can't face me."  
"You mean you won't face me. You were willing to face me as an infant, and last year when I was down, tortured, younger, and with a broken leg. You won't face me when I can stand on my own two feet? You are a coward."  
Voldemort's nostrils flared and his eyes flashed angrily. "You dare speak to me like that?"  
"Yes, and I challenge you to a duel. Accept and fight or refuse and be proved in front of everyone here that you are a coward who doesn't have the power to stand up to one fifteen year old boy." While Harry waited for the answer he looked to where his classmates and Professor Delano had been chained. They were all still there, helpless, but something seemed to be moving around them. Ron!  
Voldemort seemed to be considering. "I accept, but you may not use your wand. I remember the last time we met."  
"It's the only one I have."  
"Malfoy! Bring me the wands of those unfortunate misfits."  
Luscious came, bearing a box. Inside were over a dozen wands.  
Voldemort waved a careless hand. "Pick any wand you like. I swear I've touched none of them."  
Harry looked at the wands. He recognized some of them. Harry picked up one in particular; it belonged to Neville.  
"Have you chosen? Good. We'll begin."  
The Death Eaters made a circle around Harry and Voldemort; this was to be sure Harry couldn't run away. Harry saw that the box of wands was outside the circle of Death Eaters. He hoped Ron would notice.  
The Death Eater who had been with Pettigrew appeared in the middle of the circle. He bowed to Voldemort. "My Lord, Wormtail is missing."  
"Explain yourself."  
"I turned my back for an instant and he was gone. I don't know what happened."  
"He was always worthless, so he is no great loss but you must find him. I don't care if he lives or dies, we just cannot let people know he lives. Get him alive or dead and bring him to me. Go with three others. Be gone. I have business to settle here."  
The wizard who had brought the news vanished with three others.  
"Bow to your death, Harry Potter."  
Harry instead stood taller. He pointed his wand at Voldemort, just distract him, Harry thought. Just distract him until Ron has the others free, then attack to kill. "Rictusempra!" he shouted thinking back to his second year of Hogwarts.  
Everyone was surprised, Voldemort himself was doubled over with laughter and wheezing with the effort. He appeared to try and cast a spell but was too out of breath to try. Harry set a shielding spell around himself in case any Death Eaters came after him. This was when the others struck.  
The Death Eaters didn't know what had hit them.  
Those who had been chained together now had their wands and they had attacked the Death Eaters. Some had struck back but most had Disapperated immediately for fear of being unmasked and turned in to the Ministry.  
Harry looked around. Voldemort seemed to have recovered and he was coming toward Harry. Voldemort had dropped his wand but Harry knew that if Voldemort touched his skin he would be in so much pain he couldn't think or defend himself.  
Harry raised his wand to cast another spell, he saw Voldemort coming at him, he saw the snake streaking toward him, he saw the fighting around him, and then he saw nothing.  
What may have been days later or only seconds, Harry was only just barely aware of someone touching his head and whispering some words. Then there was the nothingness again. Another time Harry thought he heard voices. After that there was nothing until the dream. 


	28. Fudge

He was standing in a darkened living room. Across the room he saw his mother and father sitting together on a sofa. His mother was rocking a small bundle in her arms. Harry walked up to them and saw it was a small baby boy with black hair and green eyes. He said to his parents, "Listen. Hide. Peter can't be trusted. If you don't leave now Voldemort will attack you tonight! Get out of here."  
His father looked up at him. "I know, son. We know. We've got to stay here. For your sake. For the sake of free wizards everywhere."  
"And witches." His mother smiled.  
"Why? This way we'll get to know each other. You'll live and I won't be with the Dursleys. We can be a family. And if you die your best friend will go to Azkaban. And-"  
"Harry, all this was meant to happen. We're doing what we having to. Just like you have done and will do in the future. Wake up now."  
"Wake up now."  
"Wake up now."  
The words seemed to echo in his mind and dimly the world came into focus. He saw a blurry shape in a white uniform straightening the linens. He turned his head ever so slightly and saw three other indistinct shapes: one topped in red, another, yellow, and the third brown.  
"You're waking up!" the yellow topped shape and the brown topped shaped leaned over and hugged him. The other person got his glasses and put them on his face. As Harry suspected the blurs of colors were the hair of his friends: it was Ron, Hermione, and Renata.  
"Harry, we were afraid that." Ron didn't finish the sentence.  
Harry groaned as he struggled to sit up and failed. "You know it's not that easy to get rid of me. What happened?"  
"Everyone is back safe. Everyone except."  
"Where am I?"  
"The hospital."  
"Which hospital?"  
"You'll never guess what happened."  
"Ron, where am I and what happened?" He tried to sit up but the nurse beside him gently pushed down his shoulder; it was just as well, trying to sit up had made his head hurt.  
Hermione seemed about to say something but shut her mouth.  
"What is it, Hermione?"  
"You're in.St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies."  
"What? Why?"  
"I don't think we should tell you. Dumbledore said we shouldn't talk to you too much."  
"Tell me what happened." He tried to sit up again.  
"Not now, Harry."  
"Rest."  
"You're ill and your need rest," Renata grinned. "We promise that we'll be back later as long as you don't die while we're gone. Deal?"  
"Okay." He gave her a weak smile.  
As his friends left Harry looked to see who the nurse was that had been fussing beside his bed. Standing there was Madam Pomfrey.  
"What day is it?" he asked.  
Madam Pomfrey looked relieved to see Harry awake but she became strict. "You need to rest."  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Humph. Taking care of you. What else?"  
"Aren't there nurses here?"  
"Of course there are but I've worked with you before and not everyone can handle the same patients well enough. A fragile boy such as yourself-"  
"I'm not fragile."  
"Fine, one who seems to end up in the hospital as much as you needs to be careful. Drink this." She sat him up and poured a steaming liquid down his throat. "Go to sleep. Dumbledore will speak with you when you have rested."  
Harry closed his eyes and fell into a deep and dreamless slumber. When he woke up again the first face he saw belonged to-  
"Sirius! What are you doing here? What if somebody sees you?"  
"Relax, Harry. It's all okay," Sirius was grinning but at the same time he looked worried. "I should have made Dumbledore let me come with you. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner."  
"What do you mean 'it's all okay'?"  
"I'll let Hermione and Renata tell you when they come back to see you again. I'm free, Harry."  
"Wh-wh-what?"  
"I am free, Harry. When you and the others testify for me for the Ministry it will be final, but they've got Peter and I'm free."  
Harry saw tears shining in Sirius's eyes and he was sure he could feel them in his own as well. He couldn't say anything. "I can leave the Dursleys?" he asked, barely above a whisper.  
"That's not completely for me to decide. It's up Dumbledore, and the Ministry, and you of course."  
"I'd never have gone back once I left for Hogwarts."  
"I'm going to try my best, Harry. I can't keep you to myself now; there are other people who want to see you. Ron and Hermione and Renata want to talk to you. And Dumbledore of course. Fudge is here too." He said with a slight frown.  
"I'm not talking to him."  
"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice, Harry," Fudge's voice came across the room.  
"I don't have anything to say to you, sir. I think you should be talking to Professor Dumbledore," he narrowed his eyes and his voice was cold.  
"I tried. He insisted I speak with you first."  
"What did he say?"  
"I asked him what I should do and he said I needed to talk to you, Harry."  
"So, talk."  
"What do you think, Harry?"  
"About what? I've hardly been awake since I got here. I haven't had time to think about anything that happened last night!"  
"Last night?" he frowned. "You haven't been awake for a week."  
"A week!"  
"Didn't you know?  
"No. No one's telling me anything. You better let Sirius stay free. I am not going back to the Dursleys."  
"Harry, that's unthinkable, they are your legal gaurdians and Mr. Black-"  
"Sirius is great. He looks out for me. The Dursleys couldn't care less. They don't care one iota about me. Sirius is innocent and he does care. We've just proved that he's innocent!"  
"Still working on proving it."  
"Are you saying you don't think he's innocent? I saw Peter last night and he was alive!"  
"Well, Harry..."  
"Just get out of here! Shoo! Go talk to Dumbledore. Go talk to Voldemort for all I care. Just don't stay here and just don't talk to me because I've got nothing to say to you that you want to hear. You made mistakes you won't own up to, so get out of my face and deal with it because I'm not speaking to you."  
"If that's the way you feel..." Fudge stalked out of the room muttering something about respect for elders.  
Sirius turned to him, "You sure that was wise, Harry? I know he's a git, but still...I forgot to tell you! Mrs. Weasly came to see you."  
"Mrs. Weasly?" Harry suddenly felt a little better. Ron's mum treated Harry like one of her own.  
"Yes, quite a collection of visitors and plenty more waiting for you back at Hogwarts."  
"Did they find everyone?"  
"Yes but not everyone was quite that well off. That Terry boy.well.I think you saw what happened to him. They've got the rest more or less whole. Most of them have gone back to Hogwarts already. They found Neville Longbottom as well. Apparently, he'd been kept alive in hopes that you would come after him they didn't think you'd come if you somehow found out Neville were dead. Apparently he was the real bait and the others were only taken as an after thought and because you never came after Neville. There were a couple of injuries when everyone was fighting and the rattlesnake bit Hermione, but everyone's just about healed up. We even caught a few of the Death Eaters, but very few."  
"What about Voldemort?" Harry asked quietly.  
"He- he got away, Harry. There was nothing that could be done to stop it."  
"I thought for sure we had him this time! Where's Pettigrew?"  
"Dumbledore has personally seen to the safekeeping of him, thanks to Hermione and Renata. I'll let them tell you about it when they come."  
There was a knock at the door. Dumbledore came in. "I see you're busy, Harry, I'll come back later."  
"No, wait. I want the whole story of what happened."  
"It's quite simple actually. You and your friends snuck out after explicitly being told not to. You left the campus, which is of course not allowed, brooms were taken from two of the students and you endangered yourself and others. You should be proud, Harry, without your help those others might have been lost forever. That is the short of it all. I'm sure you're friends will oblige you with the details." Dumbledore produced something from his pocket. "A bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I think I should like to try one but I wonder whether I will get a tasty flavor or not." He popped one in his mouth before setting the bag down beside Harry. He informed Harry, "Liver."  
Harry couldn't tell whether Dumbledore thought this was good or bad.  
"I'll see you soon. Don't spoil your lunch with these."  
No sooner had Dumbledore left than Madam Pomfrey came bustling in with a tray with Harry's lunch. "Eat well. You need your strength. Not too much candy. You'll be going back to Hogwarts soon but in the meantime you need good food and rest."  
Harry was still tired; too tired to argue with the nurse so he just ate without complaint. He had nearly fallen asleep when he heard his friends arguing with Madam Pomfrey.  
"Please. You let Sirius in-"  
"That was different."  
"You let Fudge in."  
"Again, that is another case."  
"You let Dumbledore in. And us in."  
"Yeah. We were allowed to stay here so we could see Harry. We don't want to leave and there's no point in having us stay if we can't see him."  
"Again, these are entirely different matters."  
"Please?"  
"Please?"  
"Please?"  
"A short visit, mind you. Keep it short."  
"Thank you!" they flung their gratitude over their shoulders and came to Harry's bed.  
"Harry, how are you feeling?"  
"Did you rest like we told you to?"  
"Glad to see you didn't kill yourself while we were gone."  
"Good to see you guys too." He managed to get himself upright in the bed without his head hurting too badly. "So what happened? I know it was a week ago and Dumbledore gave me an overview of what happened but tell me what happened."  
And so they began to tell him.  
"We all got up and were going to follow you, we started to and then Hermione was bit by the snake. So, even though neither of them wanted to they both had to go back to the ditch with the brooms and take care of the bite."  
"Yes. I couldn't leave because of my leg and Renata couldn't leave because she had to treat it."  
Ron took up the story thread again. "So I took the cloak and started to follow you. We left where Pettigrew and that other guy were and we went to where You-Know-Who and everyone else was. Then when one of them picked up Terry, and you just sort of lost it and you challenged him to a duel. But they got Terry anyway. When you were distracting them I went to where everyone one was chained up. The Death Eaters were stupid enough to leave the box of wands out and so that when they closed their ring I gave everyone back their wands. When you had them all distracted again we attacked. The Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors did anyway. The stupid Death Eaters didn't know what hit them!"  
"Where was Malfoy?"  
"He was standing around with the Death Eaters and when the fighting started he just sat on the ground whining. Pansy got out a spell or two though. I don't know about Crabbe though. When the fighting got really bad Renata's mum Disapperated and came back with help. By then some of the Death Eaters had left though and most of those who hadn't already left, left when Renata's mum came back. We caught a couple of the Death Eaters and gave them to the Ministry. McNair and another one I think. When the fighting stopped we saw you laying on the ground, unconscious."  
"Again," added Renata.  
"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Anyway we weren't sure what he'd done to you. At first we thought.but then Angelina saw that you were breathing. So he must have just knocked you out or something. Do you remember?"  
"Not the end of it really. Voldemort and his snake were coming at me.and then there was just nothing. I don't remember anything that happened after that, at least nothing when I was conscious. What else? Did you find out about Neville? How'd you get Wormtail?"  
"Full of questions, aren't you?" teased Renata. "I think we should just make you wait."  
"What about Neville and Wormtail?" he asked again.  
"We found Neville tied up not too far from the rest of them. He'll tell you the story when he sees you."  
"He's here? Is he okay?"  
"He's fine now. Just visiting some people on another floor."  
"Good. Then what about Wormtail?"  
"I'll let Hermione tell you about him."  
"Renata and I were waiting and we got worried when neither of you came back. Renata had taken care of my leg so that was well enough off. We came to look for you two. The first people we saw where Wormtail and that other guy. We sent sparks into the air for a distraction for the guy and then we were going to stun Wormtail but he turned into a rat."  
"That of course is just as well because when we stunned him as a rat he fit into our bags quite nicely. That other guy never saw us, but it was close. If he had turned around a couple seconds sooner he would have. When he couldn't find Wormtail, he Disapperated. Then it wasn't long before everyone came back and found us."  
"I conjured a jar and put an unbreakable charm on it. Then I put Wormtail in."  
"Just like with Rita Skeeter," Harry grinned.  
"I didn't want to give him air holes but Hermione said we had to. Then someone called the Knight Bus to get the students back to my old school. Most of the adults just Apperated as close to there as they could get and then pretty much ran the rest of the way. So we got there to sort things out but then somebody recommended you be taken here. Madam Pomfrey found out and insisted on coming too."  
"How did the students and your mom get caught by them in the first place?"  
"Well, the way I understood it, somebody set a spell that worked a lot like a Portkey. When the bus drove to where the spell was set it went off and it transported them all to about where you found them. The Death Eaters were waiting and they tied them up and took their wands. That's about it all there is to tell you."  
With that, Harry was lulled to sleep within a few moments.  
When Harry woke up, Dumbledore was there again.  
"Hello, Harry."  
"Hi, Professor Dumbledore."  
"Anything you'd like to say or know, Harry?"  
"A few things actually."  
"Ask away," he invited.  
"I had a dream when I was unconscious." Harry began to tell Dumbledore his dream.  
"You feel guilty, Harry. You blame yourself often for your parents death whether you realize it or not; but at the same time, even much deeper down, you know that it wasn't your fault but the two feelings are in conflict. But, you see, it wasn't your fault, Harry. Don't let anyone ever make you that it was."  
"I .I know it sounds strange, Professor, but I'm not sure that was a dream."  
"Neither am I, Harry, but for now, that's what we'll have to except it as."  
"Where am I going this summer? What's happening with Sirius? If I can't go with him could I go to the Weaslys'?"  
"Slow down, Harry. I do not yet know for sure where you will spend this summer."  
"If my voice counts for anything, I don't want to and I won't go back to the Dursleys."  
"Harry, this is a much more complicated matter than it seems. Unfortunately I think you may have to go back to the Dursleys if the Ministry rules that Sirius is not yet ready to be your proper guardian. I will try though. You should be leaving here in a day or two. Maybe even tomorrow."  
"What about Sirius?"  
"Impatient, aren't you? As for the matter of Sirius's freedom, that is almost certain. I am almost sure that the Ministry officials will wish to talk to you and Hermione and Ron first."  
"Do they want to talk to Lupin too? Where is he?"  
"Remus is watching over things at Hogwarts for me. He should still be there when we go back."  
Harry tried to work out in his head what day it was, and couldn't remember. "What day is it, what's the date today?"  
"The 6th of June."  
"I'm missing the exams," he wasn't too sorry about this. "Ron and the girls are missing the exams. Will we have to make them up when we go back?"  
"Under the circumstances, Harry, no, none of you do."  
It was very hard for Harry to keep a straight face.  
"Glad to see you're feeling better. I have some matters to attend to, but I shall be back."  
Harry dozed a little in the rest of the afternoon and that night, after Madam Pomfrey removed his dinner tray Mrs. Weasly came in.  
She fussed over the blankets on Harry's bed. She talked to him for a minute. Then she gave him a hug and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, Harry."  
Harry spent the next day much the same way and the day after that he was ready to go home. The trip back was quick. They traveled by Floo Powder and Harry was soon back at Hogwarts, where he felt at home again. The first place Harry wanted to go was Gryffindor Tower; well that was the second, he hadn't seen Hagrid in at least two weeks. Ron, Hermione, and Renata didn't seem to deem it wise to let Harry off by himself and therefore accompanied him, although part of the reason they went was probably to see Hagrid.  
"Harry! Good ter see yeh agin. Seems like a long time, yeh know."  
"Good to see you too, Hagrid."  
Hagrid hustled them all into the cabin for tea where Fang immediately came over to them and began drooling on Harry's robes.  
"How have things been here?" he asked.  
"You ask 'ow were things here? From what I've heard all the excitement 'as been back there. But things weren't bad here. Missed most o' the people who were gone."  
Reluctantly Harry and the others recounted the story of what had happened. When they had finished their story and their tea they left. Harry was glad to be back again, but there was someone else he had to talk to.  
"Neville, I'm glad you're okay."  
"I'm not though, Harry. I don't know what it is but I'm not the same."  
"No one ever is. Everything that happens changes us all in someway."  
"I saw my parents again. They don't know who I am, Harry. I punched Malfoy and used the Leg-Locker Curse on him that night when You-Know-Who had everybody and we were all fighting. What has gotten into me?"  
"It's called self-confidence, Neville. It's what'll keep you from backing down every time Snape or Malfoy insults you. Remember, you're at least a dozen times better than him. Two dozen times better. He's Slytherin scum, am I right?"  
"Yeah." He paused a moment before grinning broadly, "Yeah, you're right."  
The following week the fifth years took their O.W.L.s; they weren't as bad as he had expected but he and Ron agreed that they had both felt their brains would have busted if they had gone on any longer.  
After that the remaining days at Hogwarts passed much too swiftly for Harry's liking. Sirius had said his goodbye when Harry left St. Mungos and had promised to keep in touch. Professor Lupin left the day after they came back. Except for the slightly more somber mood of the Ravenclaws and the fact that the Slytherins were now staying out of the way more and keeping to themselves more, things seemed to go back to what passed for normal at Hogwarts.  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Renata took one last extra trip to Hogsmeade. They never let Harry out of their sight once. At all times, one or more of them was with him. He went to Honeydukes and picked up a levitating Sherbert Ball for Dudley and a few other sweets for himself.  
Harry's mood was not cheered by the fact that Dumbledore was sending him back to the Dursleys again.  
Too soon Harry found himself packing up his trunk and saying goodbye to the dormitory. He went down into the Great Hall with his friends for the end of school feast.  
The decorations in the Great Hall were black hangings for the second year in a row. Last year it had been in honor of Cedric's death, this year in honor of Terry's. Harry took his place among the Gryffindors. The students in the Hall quieted almost instantly as Professor Dumbledore stood for his speech.  
"Another year has gone by and with it has gone the life of another student here at Hogwarts. I don't know how many of you knew Terry Boot but as most of you know, he has passed on while we were away. It is true that Voldemort killed him. Voldemort kidnapped twelve students and a teacher while we were away as well as another student who was missing during the year. If not for the efforts of several brave students here, those taken prisoner may not have been recovered. For this I would like to thank Misters Ron Weasly and Harry Potter as well as Miss Hermione Granger and Miss Renata Delano. For each of them I have given the Gryffindor House fifty points. Also I commend those who fought back against Voldemort during the struggle of the escape. As for the House Cup, Gryffindor wins. Hufflepuff is in fourth place with 297 points; Ravenclaw in third with 313 points; Slytherin in second place with 402; and Gryffindor in first place with 501 points. Before we begin the feast I would like you all to raise your glasses and have a moment of silence in Terry's honor, for his last moments were perhaps his most courageous." Dumbledore raised his own goblet silently and the others all followed suit, when he put the goblet down the students and teachers put down their goblets. "Let the feast begin."  
The plates in front of them magically appeared full of food. As the meal progressed the mood lightened but at the same time Harry grew a little depressed; he'd be leaving Hogwarts for two months and when he had had the most hope of ever leaving the Dursleys for good, he was stuck their again. He didn't let this keep him too down though; instead he enjoyed himself. 


	29. Back to Number 4

"Harry, mum said she was going to invite you over this summer. Reckon the Muggles will let you come?"  
"Sure they will. They're as glad to get rid of me as I am to leave them," replied Harry stepping into the carriage with Ron, Hermione, and Renata.  
They talked and laughed during the ride to the station. As the carriage stopped near the train the little fleet of boats carrying Hagrid and the first years reached the shore.  
Hagrid called, waving his large hands, "Bye, Harry! Bye, Ron! Hermione! Renata!"  
They all turned and waved back, "Goodbye, Hagrid!" and "See you next September!"  
They got onto the train and found a compartment to themselves.  
They shut the door and sat down.  
Ron looked out the window thoughtfully. "I hope things go okay with Sirius this summer."  
"Why shouldn't they?" asked Hermione. "We've got the proof we need, don't we? Pettigrew is captured. We've got what we need. Plus there are witnesses who can testify for Sirius, including Dumbledore. Nothing should go wrong."  
Ron pointed out, "Shouldn't, but still could."  
Harry sighed, "I know, but remember, they don't trust him. He was sent to Azkaban without a trial; and I'm not really on Fudge's good side right now." He told them briefly about what he had said to Fudge at St. Mungos.  
"I'm not sure how smart that was, Harry."  
"Oh come on, Hermione, Fudge is a horrible Minister. I remember when I first met Hagrid he told me that Fudge only got the job because Dumbledore wouldn't leave Hogwarts."  
"Ron, your dad would make a good Minister of Magic," Renata commented.  
Ron's ears turned red.  
"How do they choose the Minister, anyway?" asked Harry, dealing out cards for a game of Exploding Snap.  
Ron led them through the process of discussing how the Minister was chosen and then how he was sworn into office and when he was done with that he started ticking off names of people who seemed like they might have a chance of becoming Minister.  
"There's that Fletcher man. I don't like him much, though. Something about him is just." Ron trailed off.  
"Dumbledore trusts him," Harry said suddenly. "Remember when I found that Tower earlier this year with the newspapers? He was one of the wizards there. But Snape said something about it being his second chance."  
"That's right. And Dumbledore might trust him but he's trusting, he trusted Quirrell and look what he turned out to be."  
The others agreed.  
"I still think your dad would be a good Minister."  
"I just hope they sack Fudge soon. That guy is really getting on my nerves."  
The compartment door slid open and Draco Malfoy sauntered in, flanked as usually by Crabbe and Goyle.  
"Weasly, your father isn't fit to run a household much less the whole Ministry of Magic. My father on the other hand has the whole place wrapped around his finger. He has connections. He will make this world as it should be, and he'll punish the Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first. He'll get rid of Dumbledore and clear the way for the Dark Lord. Potter, you won't live to your next birthday. You will-" Instantly Draco Malfoy lie slumped on the floor of the compartment right under the doorway.  
Crabbe and Goyle came forward and began to pummel Harry and Ron but were surprised by a counter attack from not only Ron and Harry but Renata and Hermione as well. Eventually the two Slytherins fled the compartment.  
Harry grabbed Malfoy's foot and dragged him further inside the compartment before shutting the door. "I was going to just shove him into the hall but I've got a better idea."  
"Harry, how'd you knock him out? You didn't use a spell or your fists."  
He flashed a wicked grin. "Fred and George's Catnap Blow Darts. I had one in my pocket to use on Dudley if I got bored on the way home but I decided this was a better use." Harry then used the Leg-Locker Curse on Malfoy in order to make it more difficult when he woke up.  
Renata used a variation of the spell she had used to change Ron's hair color on the airplane to make Malfoy's hair pink. Ron and Hermione each did a spell as well. Hermione used the Furunculous Curse and Ron used a rather clever one: an unscratchable itch that travels for ten minutes. Then, roughly, Harry and Ron dragged Malfoy further into the hall.  
When Fred, George, and Lee found them later they were playing Exploding Snap again.  
All three graduates were grinning. "Nice work out in the hall!"  
"Excellent."  
"Very neatly taken care of."  
The others couldn't help but grin at them. "Sit down. Play a game with us."  
They dealt out the Exploding Snap cards again. "So, what do you plan to do now that you are all out of Hogwarts?"  
"We are working on starting that joke shop of ours," Fred shrugged.  
"Pretty much that's it."  
"What about you, Lee?"  
"I don't really know yet. Actually my parents were thinking of having me sent out of country somewhere. They think I need more schooling or something to make me not so careless and concentrate less on pranks and more on work. The seem to think I should try to be responsible."  
"Lee," Ron said putting a hand on his shoulder, "it would take a miracle to make you stop caring about jokes more than any sort of work."  
"Thanks. My parents said in the last owl they sent, 'Lee, you have lacked in your studies and effort. We feel it's necessary for you to study more and we are sending you to.' Well, I don't remember really where they said but I'm going somewhere so I guess I'm not working yet."  
They talked a while before Lee and the twins left and wandered off to another part of the train.  
It wasn't long after that when Ginny knocked on the compartment door. "Hi, I was kind of lonely. Can I stay in here?"  
Hermione put her arm around Ginny. "Of course you can."  
The train slowed to a stop sooner than they would have liked it too. As he left the train with his friends Harry realized with a sudden pang in his chest that there would only be two more years for him at Hogwarts. He shook the thought from his head with some difficulty.  
"Harry, I'll have mum write and pretend to ask the Muggles if you can come stay with us again," Ron promised.  
"I'll be looking forward to it, unlike the rest of my summer," Harry replied  
The security guard that was regulating how many students could walk through the barrier at a time (so as not to attract the attention of the Muggles) motioned to them that Harry and Ron, and then Hermione and Renata, could cross the barrier leading to the Muggle side of King's Cross Station.  
Mrs. Weasly came over to them and gave them all hugs. "Had a good term, I hope?"  
"Yes, mum."  
"Yes, Mrs. Weasly."  
"Yes, Mrs. Weasly."  
Renata nodded.  
"I hope all three of you will come stay with us this summer."  
"We will."  
Hermione saw her parents waiting and told them goodbye and that she'd keep in touch.  
The Weaslys waved and said farewell too.  
Renata stood next to Harry a few seconds longer and Harry saw the Dursleys approaching.  
Renata began to walk away and it seemed wasn't going to say anything but she stopped, came back, and whispered to him, "You're cute, Harry, you know that? You are, really." She went over to where her mum was waiting for her not too far away, and without a single backwards glance. Harry stood a moment, dumbstruck. Slightly bewildered, he smiled and walked over to where the three unhappy Dursleys stood, waiting to take him home once again, home but not home. He was leaving his home behind, Hogwarts. Privet Drive was just place he had to stay until the Weaslys would have him over, then he would return home, to Hogwarts. Harry looked back for one last glance at Renata; she was a strange girl but somehow it was interesting and comforting too. Harry was glad to still have more darts and a Sherbet ball to use on Dudley; it would be a long summer until September came. 


	30. The End

THE END  
  
Okay, so what'd you think. Be brutal.  
  
Next Fic after this one: Harry Potter and the Green Flame Torch! 


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